
I 



DIARY 






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THE BESIEGED RESIDENT 



IN PARIS. 



REPRINTED FROM THE LONDON " DAILY NEWS," 



WITH 



SEVERAL NEW LETTERS AND PREFACE. 



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PREFACE. 



The publishers of these letters have requested me to write a preface. In 
vain I have told them that if prefaces have not gone out of date, the 
sooner they do, the better it will be for the public ; in vain I have despair- 
ingly suggested that there must be something which would serve their pur- 
pose, kept in type at their printer's, commencing, "At the request of — 
perhaps too partial — friends, I have been induced, against my own judg- 
ment, to publish, etc., etc., etc. ;" they say that they have (advertised the 
book with a preface, and a preface from me they must and will have. Un- 
fortunately I have, from my earliest childhood, religiously skipped all in- 
troductions, prefaces, and other such obstructions, so that I really do not 
precisely know how one ought to be written ; I can only, therefore, say 
that— 

•. The. letters are published for the very excellent reason that a confiding 

r has offered me a sum of money for them, which I was not such 

■ 3 to refuse. They were written in Paris to the Daily News during 

^ge. I was residing there when the war broke out ; after a short 

absence, I returned just before the capitulation of Sedan — intending only 

to remain one night. The situation, however, was so interesting that I 

staid on from day to day, until I found the German armies drawing their 

lines of investment round the city. Had I supposed that I should have 

been their prisoner for nearly five months, I confess I should have made 

an effort to escape, but I shared the general illusion that — one way or the 

other — the siege would not last a month. 

Although I forwarded my letters by balloon, or sent them by messengers 
who promised to " run the blockade," I had no notion, until the armistice 
restored us to communications with the outer world, that one in twenty had 
reached its destination. This mode of writing, as Dr. William Russell wit- 
tily observed to me the other day at Versailles, was much like firing in the 
dark, and it must be my excuse for any inaccuracies or repetitions. 

Many of my letters have been lost en route — some of them, which reached 
the Daily News office too late for insertion, are now published for the first 
time. The reader will perceive that I pretend to no technical knowledge 
of military matters ; I have only sought to convey a general notion of how 
the warlike operations around Paris appeared to a civilian spectator, and to 



6 PREFACE. 

give a fair and impartial account of the inner life of Paris during its isola- 
tion from the rest of Europe. My bias — if I had any — was in favor of the 
Parisians, and I should have been heartily glad had they been successful in 
their resistance. There is, however, no getting over facts, and I could not 
long close my eyes to the most palpable fact — however I might wish it 
otherwise — that their leaders were men of little energy and small resource, 
and that they themselves seemed rather to depend for deliverance upon ex- 
traneous succor than upon their own exertions. The women and the children 
undoubtedly suffered great hardships, which they bore with praiseworthy 
resignation. The sailors, the soldiers of the line, and levies of peasants 
which formed the Mobiles, fought with decent courage. But the male 
population of Paris, although they boasted greatly of their "sublimity," 
their "endurance," and their "valor," hardly appeared to me to come up 
to their own estimation of themselves, while many of them seemed to con- 
sider that heroism was a necessary consequence of the enunciation of ad- 
vanced political opinions. My object in writing was to present a practical 
rather than a sentimental view of events, and to recount things as they 
were, not as I wished them to be, or as the Parisians, with perhaps excusa- 
ble patriotism, wished them to appear. 

For the sake of my publishers, I trust that the book will find favor with 
the public. For the last three hours I have been correcting the proofs of 
my prose, and it struck me that letters written to be inserted in separate 
numbers of a daily paper, when published in a collected form, are somewhat 
heavy reading. I feel, indeed, just at present, much like a person who has 
obtained money under false pretenses, but whose remorse is not sufficiently 
strong to induce him to return it 



DIARY 



OP THE 



BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Pakis, September 18th. 

No one walking on the Champs Elysees or 
on the Boulevards to-day would suppose that 
300,000 Prussians are within a few miles of the 
city, and intend to besiege it. Happy, said 
Laurence Sterne, in his "Sentimental Jour- 
ney," the nation which can once a week forget 
its cares. The French have not changed since 
then. To-day is a fete day, and as a fete day 
it must be kept. Every one seems to have for- 
gotten the existence of the Prussians. The 
Cafes are crowded by a gay crowd. On the 
Boulevard Monsieur and Madame walk quiet- 
ly along with their children. In the Champs 
Elysees honest mechanics and bourgeois are 
basking in the sun, and nursery-maids are flirt- 
ing with soldiers. There is even a lull in the 
universal drilling. The regiments of Natio- 
naux and Mobiles carry large branches of trees 
stuck into the ends of their muskets. Eound 
the statue of Strasburg there is the usual crowd, 
and speculators are driving a brisk trade in por- 
traits of General Uhrich. "Here, citizens," 
cries one, " is the portrait of the heroic defend- 
er of Strasburg, only one sou — it cost me two — 
I only wish that I were rich enough to give 
it away." "Listen, citizens," cries another, 
" whilst I declaim the poem of a lady who has 
escaped from Strasburg. To those who, after 
hearing it, may wish to read it to their families, 
I will give it as a favor for two sous." I only 
saw one disturbance. As I passed by the Bond 
Point, a very tall woman was mobbed, because 
it was thought that she might be a Uhlan in 
disguise. But it was regarded more as a joke 
than any thing serious. So bent on being hap- 
py was every one that I really believe that a 
Uhlan in the midst of them would not have dis- 
turbed their equanimity. "Come what may, 
to-day we will be merry," seemed to be the 
feeling ; "let us leave care to the morrow, and 
make the most of what mav be our last fete 
day." 

Mr. Malet, the English secretary, who return- 



ed yesterday from Meaux, had no small diffi- 
culty in getting through the Prussian lines. He 
started on Thursday evening for Creil in a train 
with a French officer. "When they got to Creil, 
they knocked up the Mayor, and begged him to 
procure them a horse. He gave them an order 
for the only one in the town. Its proprietor 
was in bed, and when they knocked at his door, 
his wife cried out from the window, "My hus- 
band is a coward and won't open." A voice 
from within was heard saving, " I go out at 
night for no one." So they laid hands on the 
horse and harnessed it to a gig. All night 
long they drove in what they supposed was the 
direction of the Prussian outposts, trumpeting 
occasionally like elephants in a jungle. In the 
morning they found themselves in a desert, not 
a living soul to be seen, so they turned back to- 
wards Paris, got close in to the forts, and start- 
ed in another direction. Occasionally they dis- 
cerned a distant Uhlan, who rode off when he 
saw them. On Friday night they slept among 
the Francs-tireurs, and on the following morn- 
ing they pushed forward again with an escort. 
Soon they saw a Prussian outpost, and after wav- 
ing for some time a white flag, an ofiicer came 
forward. After a parley Mr. Malet and his 
friend were allowed to pass. At three o'clock 
they arrived at Meaux. Count Bismarck was 
just driving into the town ; he at once recog- 
nized Mr. Malet, whom he had known in Ger- 
many, and begged him to call upon him at nine 
o'clock. From Mr. Malet I know nothing more. 
I tried to " interview " him with respect to his 
conversation with Count Bismarck, but it takes 
two to make a bargain, and in this bargain he 
declined to be the number two. About half 
an hour afterwards, however, I met a foreign 
diplomatist of my acquaintance who had just 
come from the British Embassy. He had 
heard Mr. Malet's story, which, of course, had 
been communicated to the Corps Diplomatique, 
and being slightly demoralized, without well 
thinking what he was doing, he confided it to 
my sympathizing ear. 

Mr. Malet, at nine o'clock, found Count Bis- 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Sept. 19ih. 



marck seated before a table with wine and ci- 
gars. He was in high spirits and very sociable. 
This I can well believe, for I used to know him, 
and, to give the devil his due, he is one of the 
few Prussians of a sociable disposition. The 
interview lasted for more than two hours. 
Count Bismarck told Mr. Malet that the Prus- 
sians meant to have Metz and Strasburg, and 
should remain in France until they were ob- 
tained. The Prussians did not intend to dis- 
mantle them, but to make them stronger than 
they at present are. " The French," he said, 
"will hate us with an undying hate, and we 
must take care to render this hate powerless." 
As for Paris, the German armies would surround 
it, and with their several corps d'armee, and 
their 70,000 cavalry, would isolate it from the 
rest of the world, and leave its inhabitants to 
"seethe in their own milk." If the Parisians 
continued after this to hold out, Paris would be 
bombarded, and, if necessary, burned. My own 
impression is that Count Bismarck was not such 
a fool as to say precisely what he intended to 
do, and that he will attack at once ; but the 
event will prove. He added that Germany was 
not in want of money, and therefore did not 
ask for a heavy pecuniary indemnity. Speak- 
ing of the French, Count Bismarck observed 
that there were 200,000 men'round Metz, and 
he believed that Bazaine would have to capit- 
ulate within a week. He rendered full justice 
to the courage with which the army under Ba- 
zaine had fought, but he did not seem to have 
a very high opinion of the French army of Se- 
dan. He questioned Mr. Malet about the state 
of Paris, and did not seem pleased to hear that 
there had been no tumults. The declaration 
of the Republic and its peaceful recognition by 
Paris and the whole of France appeared by no 
means to please him. He admitted that if it 
proved to be a moderate and virtuous Govern- 
ment, it might prove a source of danger to the 
monarchical principle in Germany. 

I do trust that Englishmen will well weigh 
these utterances. Surely they will at last be 
of opinion that the English Government should 
use all its moral influence to prevent a city con- 
taining nearly two million inhabitants being 
burnt to the ground in order that one million 
Frenchmen should against their will be convert- 
ed into Germans. It is our policy to make an 
effort to prevent the dismemberment of France, 
but the question is not now so much one of 
policy as of common humanity. No one asks 
England to go to war for France; all that is 
asked is that she should recognize the de facto 
Government of the country, and should urge 
Prussia to make peace on terms which a French 
nation can honorably accept. 

General Vinoy, out reconnoitring with fif- 
teen thousand men, came to-day upon a Prus- 
sian force of forty thousand near Vincennes. 
After an artillery combat, he withdrew within 
the lines of the forts. There have been unim- 
portant skirmishes with the enemy at several 
points. The American, the Belgian, the Swiss, 



and the Danish Ministers are still here. Mr. 
Wodehouse has remained to look after our in- 
terests. All the secretaries were anxious to 
stay. I should be glad to know why Mr. Fal- 
coner Atlee, the British Consul at Paris, is not, 
like other consuls, at his post. He withdrew 
to Dieppe about three weeks ago. His place is 
here. Neither a consul, nor a soldier, should 
leave his post as soon as it becomes dangerous. 

Victor Hugo has published an address to 
the nation. You may judge of its essentially 
practical spirit by the following specimen : — 
"Rouen, draw thy sword! Lille, take up thy 
musket ! Bordeaux, take up thy gun ! Mar- 
seilles, sing thy song and be terrible !" I sus- 
pect Marseilles may sing her song a long time 
before the effect of her vocal efforts will in any 
way prevent the Prussians from carrying out 
their plans. "A child," says the evening pa- 
pers, ' ' deposited her doll this afternoon in the 
arms of the statue of Strasburg. All who saw 
the youthful patriot perform this touching act 
were deeply affected." 

September 19th. 

I don't know whether my letter of yesterday 
went off or not. As my messenger to the post- 
office could get no authentic intelligence about 
what was passing, I went there myself. Every 
body was in military uniform, every body was 
shrugging his shoulders, and every body was in 
the condition of a London policeman were he 
to see himself marched off to the station by a 
street-sweeper. That the Prussian should have 
taken the Emperor prisoner, and have vanquish- 
ed the French armies, had, of course, astonished 
these worthy bureaucrats, but that they should 
have ventured to interfere with postmen had 
perfectly dumbfounded them. "Put your let- 
ter iu that box," said a venerable employe on a 
high stool. "Will it ever be taken out?" I 
asked. " Qui sait ?" he replied. "Shall you 
send off a train to-morrow morning ?" I asked. 
There was a chorus of "Qui sait?" and the 
heads disappeared still farther with the respect- 
ive shoulders to which they belonged. " What 
do you think of a man on horseback ?" I sug- 
gested. An indignant "Impossible!" was the 
answer. "Why not?" I asked. The look of 
contempt with which the clerks gazed on me 
was expressive. It meant, "Do you really im- 
agine that a functionary — a postman — is going 
to forward your letters in an irregular man- 
ner?" At this moment a sort of young French 
Jefferson Brick came in. Evidently he was a 
Republican recently set in authority. To him 
I turned. "Citizen, I want my letter to go 
to London. It is a press letter. These bu- 
reaucrats say that they dare not send it by a 
horse express; I appeal to you, as I am sure 
you are a man of expedients." "These peo- 
ple," he replied, scowling at the clerks, "are 
demoralized. They are the ancient valets of a 
corrupt Court ; give me your letter ; if possible 
it shall go, 'foi de citoyen.'" I handed my 
letter to Jefferson, but whether it is on its way 
to England, or still in his patriotic hands, I do 



Sept. 19tu.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



not know. As I passed out through the court- 
yard I saw postmen seated on the boxes of 
carts, with no horses before them. It was their 
hour to carry out the letters, and thus mechan- 
ically they fulfilled their duty. English Gov- 
ernment officials have before now been jeered 
at as men of routine, but the most ancient clerk 
in Somerset House is a man of wild impulse 
and boundless expedient compared with the 
average of functionaries great and small here. 
The want of " shiftiness" is a national charac- 
teristic. The French are like a flock of sheep 
without shepherds or sheep-dogs. Soldiers and 
civilians have no idea of any thing except do- 
ing what they are ordered to do by some func- 
tionary. Let one wheel in an administration 
get out of order, and every thing goes wrong. 
After my visit to the post-office I went to the 
central telegraph-office, and sent you a tele- 
gram. The clerk was very surly at first, but 
he said that he thought a press telegram would 
pass the wires. When I paid him he became 
friendly. My own impression is that my twelve 
francs, whoever they may benefit, will not bene- 
fit the British public. 

From the telegraph-office I directed my steps 
to a club where I was engaged to dine. I found 
half-a-dozen whist-tables in full swing. The con- 
versation about the war soon, however, became 
general. "This is our situation," said, as he 
dealt a hand, a knowing old man of the world, 
a sort of French James Clay ; " generally if one 
has no trumps in one's hand, one has at least 
some good court-cards in the other suits ; we've 
got neither trumps nor court-cards." " Et' le 
General Trochu ?" some one suggested. " My 
opinion of General Trochu," said a General, 
who was sitting reading a newspaper, "is that 
he is a man of theory, but unpractical. I 
know him well ; he has utterly failed to organ- 
ize the forces which he has under his com- 
mand." The general opinion about Trochu 
seemed to be that he is a kind of M'Clellan. 
"Will the Garde National fight?" some one 
asked. A Garde National replied, "Of course 
there are brave men amongst us, but the mass 
will give in rather than see Paris destroyed. 
They have their families and their shops." 
"And the Mobiles?" "The Mobiles are the 
stuff out of which soldiers are made, but they 
are still peasants, and not soldiers yet." On 
the whole, I found the tone in "fashionable 
circles" desponding. "Can any one tell me 
where Jules Favre has gone ?" I asked. No- 
body could, though every body seemed to think 
that he had gone to the Prussian head-quarters. 
After playing a few rubbers, I went home to 
bed at about one o'clock. The streets were ab- 
solutely deserted. All the cafe's were shut. 

Nothing in the papers this morning. In the 
Figaro an article from that old humbug Ville- 
messant. He calls upon his fellow-citizens in 
Paris to resist to the death. "One thing 
Frenchmen never forgive," he says, " coward- 
ice." 

The Gaulois contains the most news. It 



represents the Prussians to be all round Paris. 
At Versailles they have converted the Palais 
into a barrack. Their camp-fires were seen 
last night in the forest of Bondy. Uhlans have 
made their appearance at St. Cloud, "Fritz" 
has taken up his quarters at Ferrieres, the 
chateau of Baron Rothschild. " William " — 
we are very familiar when we speak of the 
Prussian Royal family — is still at Meaux. 
"No thunderbolt," adds the correspondent, 
"has yet fallen on him." The Prussian out- 
posts are at the distance of three kilometres 
from St. Denis. Near Vitry shots have been 
heard. In the environs of Vincennes there 
has been fighting. It appears General Am- 
bert was arrested yesterday. He was reviewing 
some regiments of Nationaux, and when they 
cried, " Vive la Republique" he told them that 
the Republic did not exist. The men imme- 
diately surrounded him, and carried him to the 
Ministry of the Interior, where I presume he 
still is. The Rappel finds fault with Jules Fa- 
vre's circular. Its tone, it says, is too humble. 
The Rappel gives a list of " valets of Bonaparte, 
ce coquin sinistre" who still occupy official po- 
sitions, and demands that they shall at once be 
relieved from their functions. The Rappel also 
informs its readers that letters have been dis- 
covered (where ?) proving that Queen Victoria 
had promised before the war to do her best to 
aid Germany. 

Butler of a friend of mine, whose house is 
close by the fortifications, and who has left it 
in his charge, has just been to see me. The 
house is a " poste " of the National Guard. 
Butler says the men do not sleep on the ram- 
parts, but in the neighboring houses. They 
are changed every twenty-four hours. He had 
rather a hard time of it last night with a com- 
pany from the Faubourg St. Antoine. As a 
rule, however, he says they are decent, orderly 
men. They complain very much that their 
business is going to rack and ruin ; when they 
are away from their shops, they say, impecu- 
nious patriots come in to purchase goods of 
their wives, and promise to call another day to 
pay for them. On Saturday night the butler 
reports 300 National Guards were drawn up 
before his master's house, and twenty-five vol- 
unteers were demanded for a service of danger. 
After some time the twenty-five stepped for- 
ward, but having heard for what they were 
wanted, eighteen declined to go. 

A British coachman just turned up offers to 
carry letters through — seems a sharp plucky fel- 
low. I shall employ him as soon as the Post- 
office is definitely closed. British coachman 
does not think much of the citizen soldiers in 
Paris. " Lor' bless you, sir, I'd rather have 
10,000 Englishmen than the lot of them. In 
my stable I make my men obey me, but these 
chaps they don't seem to care what their officers 
says to them. I seed them drill this morning ; 
a pretty green lot they was. Why, sir, giving 
them fellows Chassepots is much like giving 
watches to naked savages." 



10 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Sept. 19th. 



The Breton Mobiles are making pilgrimages 
to the churches. I hope it may do them good. 
I hear the cure's of Paris have divided the ram- 
parts between them, and are on the fortifica- 
tions—bravo ! cures. By-the-by, that fire-eat- 
er, Paul de Cassagnae, has not followed the ex- 
ample of his brother Imperial journalists. He 
enlisted as a Zouave, fought well, and was taken 
prisoner at Sedan. He is now employed by his 
captors in making bread. I hope his bread will 
be better than his articles. 

1 30 p.m. 
Been sitting with a friend who commands a 
company of National Guards. The company is 
now outside the fortifications. Friend tells me 
that the men in his company are mostly small 
shop-keepers. At first it was difficult to get 
them to come to drill, but within the last few 
days they have been drilling hard, and he is con- 
vinced that they will fight well. Friend tells 
me that a large number of National Guards 
have run away from Paris, and that those who 
remain are very indignant with them. He re- 
quests me to beg my countrymen, if they see a 
sturdy Monsieur swelling it down Regent Street, 
to kick him, as he ought to be defending his 
country. I fulfill his request with the greatest 
pleasure and indorse it. I have just seen a Prus- 
sian spy taken to prison. I was seated before a 
cafe on the Boulevard des Capucines. Sudden- 
ly there was a shout of " un Prussien ;" every 
one rushed towards the Place de 1' Opera, and 
from the Boulevard Haussmann came a crowd 
with a soldier, dressed as an artilleryman, on a 
horse. He was preceded and followed by about 
one hundred Mobiles. By his side rode a wom- 
an. No one touched them. Whether he and 
his " lady friend " were Germans I do not know ; 
but they certainly looked Germans, and extreme- 
ly uncomfortable. 

3 p.m. 

Been to Embassy. Messenger Johnson ar- 
rived this morning at 12 o'clock. He had driv- 
en to Rouen. At each post station he was ar- 
rested. He drove up to the Embassy, followed by 
a howling mob. As he wore an unknown uni- 
form, they took him for a Prussian. Messenger 
Johnson, being an old soldier, was belligerent- 
ly inclined. "The first man who approaches," 
etc. The porter of the Embassy, however, drag- 
ged him inside, and explained to the mob who 
he was. He had great difficulty in calming 
them. One man sensibly observed that in these 
times no one should drive through Paris in a 
foreign uniform, as the mass of the people knew 
nothing of Queen's messengers and their uni- 
forms. Messenger Johnson having by this time 
got within the Embassy gates, the mob turned 
on his postilion and led him off. What his fate 
has been no one has had time to ask. 

When I went up stairs I found Wodehouse 
sitting like patience on a stool, with a number of 
Britons round him, who wanted to get off out 
of Paris. Wodehouse very justly told them 
that Lord Lyons had given them due notice to 
leave, and that they had chosen at their own 



risk to remain. The Britons seemed to imagine 
that their Embassy was bound to find them a 
road by which they might safely withdraw from 
the town. One very important Briton was most 
indignant — "I am a man of wealth and posi- 
tion. I am not accustomed to be treated in this 
manner. What is the use of you, sir, if you 
can not insure my safe passage to England? 
If I am killed the world shall ring with it. I 
shall myself make a formal complaint to Lord 
Granville," said this incoherent and pompous 
donkey. Exit man of position fuming ; enter 
unprotected female. Of course she was a wid- 
ow, of course she had lost half-a-dozen sons, of 
course she kept lodgings, and of course she 
wanted her " hambassader " generally to take 
her under his wing. I left Wodehouse explain- 
ing to her that if she went out of Paris, even 
with a pass, she might or might not be shot, ac- 
cording to circumstances. I will say for him 
that I should not be as patient as he is, were I 
worried and badgered by the hour by a crowd 
of shrieking women and silly men. 

4 p.m. 
Fighting is going on all round Paris. There 
are crowds on the Boulevard ; every one is ask- 
ing his neighbor for news. I went to one of 
the Mairies to hear the bulletins read. The 
street was almost impassable. At last I got 
near enough to hear an official read out a dis- 
patch — nothing important. The commanders 
at Montrouge and Vincennes announce that 
the Prussians are being driven back. "Et 
Clamart?" some one cries. "Abas les alar- 
mistes," is the reply. Every one is despond- 
ent. Soldiers have come back from Meudon 
demoralized. We have lost a position, it is 
whispered. I find a friend, upon whose testi- 
mony I can rely, who was near Meudon until 
twelve o'clock. He tells me that the troops of 
the line behaved badly. They threw away 
their muskets without firing a shot, and there 
was a regular sauve qui peut. The Mobiles, 
on the other hand, fought splendidly, and were 
holding the position when he left. I am writ- 
ing this in a cafe'. It is full of Gardes Natio- 
naux. They are saying that if the troops of the 
line are not trustworthy, resistance is hopeless. 
A Garde National gives the following expla- 
nation of the demoralization of the army. He 
says that the Imperial Government only troub- 
led itself about the corps d'e'lite ; that the ob- 
ject in the line regiments was to get substitutes 
as cheaply as possible ; consequently, they are 
filled with men physically and morally the 
scum of the nation. Semaphore telegraphs 
have been put up on all the high public build- 
ings. There are also semaphores on the forts. 
I see that one opposite me is exchanging sig- 
nals. The crowd watch them as though by 
looking they would discover what they mean. 
"A first success," says a National next to me, 
" was absolutely necessary for us, in order to 
give us confidence." u But this success we do 
not seem likely to have," says another. The 
attempt to burn down the forests seems only 



Sept. 20th.] 



THE BESIEGED EESIDENT IN PARIS. 



It 



partially to have succeeded. The Prussians 
appear to be using them, and the French to the 
last carrying on war without scouts. 

6 p.m. 
Evening papers just out. Not a word about 

Clamart. The Liberie says the Minister of 
the Interior refers journalists to General Tro- 
chu, who claims the right to suppress what he 
pleases. When will French Governments un- 
derstand that it is far more productive of de- 
moralization to allow no official news to be 
published than to publish the worst? Roche- 
fort has been appointed President of a Commit- 
tee of Barricades, to organize a second line of 
defense within the ramparts. 

7 p.m. 
The cannon can be distinctly heard. The 

reports come from different quarters. Jules 
Favre, I hear from a sure source, is at the Prus- 
sian head-quarters. 

7 30 p.m. 
I live au quatrieme with a balcony before my 
room. I can see the flashes of cannon in the 
direction of Vincennes. There appears to be 
a great fire somewhere. 

12 P.M. 

Have driven to the Barriere de l'Enfer. 
Nothing there. On the Champ de Mars I 
found troops returned from Clamart. They 
complain that they never saw their officers 
during the engagement, that there were no 
scouts in the Bois de Clamart, and that the 
Prussians succeeded by their old game of 
sticking to the cover. At first they fell back 
— the French troops pressed on, when they 
were exposed to a concentric fire. From the 
Champs Elysees I drove to the Buttes de Mont- 
marte. Thousands of people clustered every- 
where except where they were kept off by the 
Nationaux, who were guarding the batteries. 
The northern sky was bright from the reflection 
of a conflagration — as the forest of St. Germain 
was burning. It was almost light. We could 
see every shot and shell fired, from the forts 
round St. Denis. At ten o'clock I got back 
to the Boulevard des Italiens. Every cafe was 
closed. It appears that at about nine o'clock 
the Cafe Riche was full of Gardes Mobiles, offi- 
cers, and lorettes. They made so much noise 
that the public outside became indignant, and 
insisted on their giving up their orgie. The 
National Guard joined in this protest, and an 
order was sent at once to close every cafe. Be- 
fore the Maison Dore'e I saw a few viveurs, gaz- 
ing at its closed windows as though the end of 
the world had come. This cafe has been open- 
ed day and night for the last twenty years. 
From my balcony I can no longer hear the 
cannon ; the sky, however, is even brighter 
from the conflagration than it was. 

September 20th. 

The firing has recommenced. We can hear 
it distinctly. General Ambert has been cash- 
iered. Figaro announces that Villemessant 
has returned. We are given a dozen para- 
graphs about this humbug of humbugs, his uni- 



form, etc., etc. I do not think that he will be 
either killed or wounded. The latest telegram 
from the outer world announces that "Sir 
Campbell" — medecin Anglais — has arrived at 
Dieppe with dispatches to the Ministers of 
Foreign Affairs and of Marine. 

11 A.M. 

Paris very quiet and very despondent. Few 
soldiers about. The Line is reviled, the Mo- 
bile extolled. From all accounts the latter 
seem to have behaved well — a little excited at 
first, but full of pluck. Let the siege only last 
a week and they will be capital soldiers, and 
then we shall no longer be called upon to be- 
lieve the assertions of military men, that it takes 
years of drill and idling in a barrack to make a 
soldier. 

My own impression always has been that 
Malet brought back a written answer from Bis- 
marck offering to see Jules Favre. Can it be 
that, after all, the Parisians, at the mere sound 
of cannon, are going to cave in, and give up 
Alsace and. Lorraine? If they do, I give them 
up. If my friends in Belleville descend into 
the streets to prevent this ignominy, I descend 
with them. 

4 P.M. 

I got, about an hour ago, some way on the 
road to Charenton, when I was turned back, 
and a couple of soldiers took possession of me, 
and did not leave me until I was within the 
city gate. I could see no traces of any Prus- 
sians or of any fighting. Two English corre- 
spondents got as far as St. Denis this morning. 
After having been arrested half-a-dozen times 
and then released, they were impressed, and 
obliged to carry stones to make a barricade. 
They saw no Prussians. I hear that a general 
of artillery was arrested last night by his men. 
There is a report, also, that the Government 
mean to decimate the cowards who ran away 
yesterday, pour encourager les autres. The guns 
of the Prussians which they have posted on the 
heights they took yesterday, it is said, will car- 
ry as far as the Arc de Triomphe. 

There have been two deputations to the Ho- 
tel de Ville to interview the Government with 
respect to the armistice. One consisted of 
about 100 officers of the National Guard, most 
of them from the Faubourgs of St. Antoine and 
the Temple. They were of course accompa- 
nied by a large crowd. Having been admitted 
into the Salle da Trone, they were received by 
the Mayor of Paris and M. Jules Ferry. The 
reply of the latter is not very clear. He cer- 
tainly said that no shameful peace should be 
concluded ; but whether, as some assert, he as- 
sured the officers that no portion of French soil 
should be ceded is not equally certain. Shortly 
after this deputation had left, another arrived 
from the Republican clubs. It is stated that 
M. Jules Ferry's answer was considered satis- 
factory. The walls have been placarded with a 
proclamation of Trochu to the armed force. He 
tells them that some regiments behaved badly 
at Clamart ; but the assertion that they had no 



12 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Sept. 22d. 



cartridges is false. He recommends all citizens 
to arrest soldiers who are drunk or who propa- 
gate false news, and threatens them with the 
vigorous application of the Articles of War. 
Another proclamation from Keratry warns ev- 
ery one against treating soldiers or selling them 
liquor when they already have had too much. 
I went to dine this evening in an estaminet in 
the Faubourg St. Antoine. It was full of men 
of the people, and from the tone of their obser- 
vations I am certain that if M. Jules Favre con- 
cludes an armistice involving any cession of 
territory, there will be a rising at once. The 
cafe's are closed now at 10 o'clock. At about 
11 1 walked home. One would have supposed 
one's self in some dull great provincial town at 
3 in the morning. Every thing was closed. 
No one, except here and there a citizen on his 
way home, or a patrol of the National Guard, 
was to be seen. 

September 21st. 
I suppose that you in England know a good 
deal more of what is passing at the Prussian 
head-quarters than we do here. M. Jules Fa- 
vre's departure was kept so close a secret, that 
it did not ooze out until yesterday. The "ul- 
tras" in the Government were, I understand 
on good authority, opposed to it, but M. Jules 
Favre was supported by Picard, Gambetta, and 
Keratry, who, as every thing is comparative, 
represent the moderate section of our rulers. 
We are as belligerent and cheery to-day as we 
were despondent on Monday evening. When 
any disaster occurs it takes a Frenchman about 
twenty-four hours to accustom himself to it. 
During this time he is capable of any act of fol- 
ly or despair. Then follows the reaction, and 
he becomes again a brave man. When it was 
heard that the heights at Meudon had been 
taken, we immediately entered into a phase of 
despair. It is over now, and we crow as lusti- 
ly as ever. We shall have another phase of 
despondency when the first fort is taken, and 
another when the first shells fall into the town ; 
but if we get through them, I really have hopes 
that Paris will not disgrace herself. Nothing 
of any importance appears to have taken place 
at the front yesterday. The commanders of 
several forts sent to Trochu to say that they 
have fired on the Prussians, and that there have 
been small outpost engagements. During the 
day the bridges of St. Cloud, Sevres, and Billan- 
court were blown up. I attempted this morn- 
ing to obtain a pass from General Trochu. An- 
nouncing myself as a " Journalist Anglais," 
I got, after some difficulty, into a room in which 
several of his staff were seated. But there my 
progress was stopped. I was told that aids- 
de-camp had been fired on, and that General 
Trochu had himself been arrested, and had 
been within an inch of being shot because he 
had had the impudence to say that he was the 
Governor of Paris. I suggested that he might 
take me with him the next time he went out, 
and pointed out that correspondents rode with 
the Prussian staffs, but it was of no use. From 



Trochu I weitt to make a few calls. I found 
every one engaged in measuring the distance 
from the Prussian batteries to his particular 
house. One friend I found seated in a cellar 
with a quantity of mattresses over it, to make it 
bomb-proof. He emerged from his subterra- 
neous Patmos to talk to me, ordered his servant 
to pile on a few more mattresses, and then re- 
treated. Any thing so dull as existence here 
it is difficult to imagine. Before the day is out 
one gets sick and tired of the one single topic 
of conversation. We are like the people at 
Cremorne waiting for the fire-works to begin ; 
and I really do believe that if this continues 
much longer, the most cowardly will welcome 
the bombs as a relief from the oppressive ennui. 
Few regiments are seen now during the day 
marching through the streets — they are most 
of them either "on the ramparts or outside them. 
From 8 to 9 in the morning there is a military 
movement, as regiments come and go, on and 
off duty. In the court-yard of the Louvre 
several regiments of Mobiles are kept under 
arms all night, ready to march to any point 
which may be seriously attacked. A good 
many troops went at an early hour this morn- 
ing in the direction of St. Cloud. 

The weather is beautiful — a lovely autumn 
morning. They say that Rochefort and his 
friends are busily employed at Grenelle. 

1 30 o'clock. 
The cannonade has been audible for the last 

half hour. It is getting every moment louder. 
The people are saying that Mont Valerien 
donne. I am going up to the Avenue de l'lm- 
peratrice, where I shall be able to see what is 
going on. 

2 30 o'clock. 
Come back ; heavy firing — but I could not 

make out whether it came from Mont Vale- 
rien. Jules Favre has returned. They say 
the Prussians will only treat in Paris. Just 
seen an American who tried to get with a letter 
to General Sheridan. He got into the Prus- 
sian lines, but could not reach head-quarters. 
On his return he was nearly murdered by the 
Mobiles ; passed last night in a cell with two 
drunkards, and has just been let out, as all his 
papers were found en regie. 



CHAPTER II. 

September 22d. 
I sent off a letter yesterday in a balloon ; 
whether it reaches its destination, or is some- 
where in the clouds, you will know before I do. 
The difficulties of getting through the lines are 
very great, and will become greater every day. 
The Post-office says that it tries to send letters 
through, but I understand that the authorities 
have little hope of succeeding. Just now I saw 
drawn up in the court-yard of the Grand Hotel 
a travelling-carriage, with hampers of provis- 
ions, luggage, and an English flag flying. Into 
it stepped four Britons. Their passports were 



Sept. 22d.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



13 



vised, they said, by their Embassy, and they were 
starting for England via Rouen. Neither French 
nor Prussians would, they were convinced, stop 
them. I did not even confide a letter to their 
hands, as they are certain, even if they get 
through the French outposts, to be arrested by 
the Prussians and turned back. Yesterday on 
the return of Jules Favre he announced that the 
King of Prussia required as a condition of peace 
the cession of Alsace and Lorraine, and as the 
condition of an armistice immediate possession 
of Metz, Strasburg, and Mont Valerien. The 
Government immediately met, and a proclama- 
tion was at once posted on the walls signed by 
all the members. After stating it had been re- 
ported that the Government was inclined to 
abandon the policy to which it owed its exist- 
ence, it goes on in the following words : — " Our 
policy is this. Neither an inch of our territory 
nor a stone of our fortresses. The Government 
will maintain this until the end." 

Yesterday afternoon we "manifested" against 
peace. We " manifest " by going, if we are in 
the National Guard, with bouquets at the ends 
of our muskets to deposit a crown of immortelles 
before the statue of Strasburg. If we are un- 
armed, we walk behind a drum to the statue and 
sing the "Marseillaise." At the statue there 
is generally some orator on a stool holding forth. 
We occasionally applaud him, but we never list- 
en to him. After this we go to the Place be- 
fore the Hotel de Ville, and we shout "Point 
de Paix." We then march down the Boule- 
vards, and we go home satisfied that we have 
deserved well of our country. As yesterday 
was the anniversary of the proclamation of the 
First Republic, we were in a very manifesting 
mood. M. Gambetta issued proclamations ev- 
ery half hour, calling upon us, in more or less 
flowery language, to die for our country. M. 
Arago, the Mayor, followed suit, heading his 
manifestoes with the old rallying-cry, "Liber- 
te', Egalite', FraterniteV I suppose the French 
are so constituted that they really can not exist 
without processions, bouquets to statues, and 
grand phrases. Notwithstanding all this hum- 
bug, a large portion of them mean, I am sure, 
to fight it out. They have taken it into their 
heads that Paris can be successfully defended, 
and if it is not, they are determined that it shall 
not be their fault. It is intended, I understand, 
to keep well beneath the cover of the forts, not 
to risk engagements more than is necessary — 
gradually to convert the splendid raw material 
of the Mobiles into good soldiers, by accustom- 
ing them to be under fire, and then, if things go 
well, to fall on one or other of the Prussian ar- 
mies. It is hoped, too, that the Prussian com- 
munications will be menaced. Such is the plan, 
and every one pretends to believe that it will 
succeed ; whether they are right or wrong time 
will show. 

The Government, an ex-diplomatist, who has 
been talking to several of its members this morn- 
ing, tells me, is a " unit." There was a party 
ready to accept the dismantling of Metz and 



' Strasburg, but as this concession will not disarm 
the Prussians, they have rallied to the "not a 
stone of one fortress " declaration. 

Of course I can not be expected to give aid 
and comfort to our besiegers by telling them, if 
they seize this letter, what is being done inside 
to keep them out. But this I think it will do 
them no harm to know. The National Guard 
man the ramparts. In the angles of the bas- 
tions there are Mobiles. At points close by the 
ramparts there are reserves of Mobiles and Na- 
tional Guards, ready at a moment's notice both 

j by day and night to reinforce them. In the cen- 
tre of the town there are reserves under arms. 

! Outside the gates, between the forts and the 
ramparts, troops are massed with artillery, and 

■ the forts are well garrisoned. A gentleman 

■ who has lately been under a cloud, as he was 
the inventor of the Orsini bombs, has several 

, thousand men at work on infernal machines. 
This magician assures me that within a week 
he will destroy the German armies as complete- 
, ly as were the Assyrians who besieged Jerusa- 
. lem under Sennacherib. He is an enthusiast, 
! but an excellent chemist, and I really have 
hopes that he will before leng astonish our friends 
j outside. He promises me that I shall witness 
his experiments in German corpore vili ; and 
though I have in mind a quotation about being 
hoisted with one's own petard, I shall certainly 
keep him to his word. On the whole, the King 
of Prussia, to use Mr. Lincoln's phrase, will find 
it a big job to take Paris if the Parisians keep 
to their present mood. Mr. Washburne told 
me yesterday that he does not think he shall 
leave. There is to be a consultation of the 
Corps Diplomatique to-morrow, under the presi- 
dency of the Nuncio, to settle joint action. I 
admire the common sense of Mr. Washburne. 
He called two days ago upon the Government 
to express his sympathy with them. Not being 
a man of forms and red tape, instead of going 
to the Foreign-office, he went to the Hotel de 
Ville, found a Council sitting, shook hands all 
round, and then withdrew. I have serious 
thoughts of taking up my quarters at the Eng- 
lish Embassy. It belongs to me as one of the 
nation, and I see no reason why I should not 
turn my property to some account. 

Yesterday's papers contained an official an- 
nouncement that a company of mutual assur- 
ance against the consequences of the bombard- 
ment has been formed. Paris is divided into 
three zones, and according to the danger pro- 
prietors of houses situated in each of them are 
to be admitted into the company on payment 
of one, two, or three per cent. It comforts me, 
comparatively, to find that I am in the one per 
cent, zone, and, unless my funds give way I shall 
remain there. 

Spies are being arrested every half hour. 
Many mistakes are made from over-zeal, but 
there is no doubt that a good many Germans 
are in the town disguised in French uniforms. 
The newspapers ask what becomes of them all, 
and suggest that they should be publicly shot. 



14 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PAEIS. 



[Sept. 22d. 



It is beautiful weather, and as I sit writing this 
at my open window I have great difficulty in 
believing that we are cut off from the rest of 
the world by a number of victorious armies, 
who mean to burn or starve us out. M. John 
Lemoinne in the Journal des Debats this morn- 
ing has a very sensible article upon the position 
of the Government. He says that between the 
first and the second of these two ultimatums 
there is a vast difference, and he exhorts the 
Government to stand by the first, but not to re- 
fuse peace if it can be obtained by the disman- 
tling of Metz and Strasburg. The Temps of this 
evenirig takes the same view of the proclama- 
tion. The ultra Republican journals, on the 
other hand, support thepolicy of the Government. 
M. Felix Pyat, in his organ, Le Combat, urges 
war to the death, and proposes that we should 
at once have Spartan banquets, at which rich 
and poor should fare alike. A proposal has 
been made to start a national subscription for a 
musket of honor to be given to the man who 
shoots the King of Prussia. There are al- 
ready 2000 subscribers of one sou each to the 
testimonial. The latest proclamation I have 
seen on the walls is one from the Mayor of 
Paris, informing the public that the coachmen 
of Paris are not to be ill-treated by their fares 
because they are not on the ramparts. As the 
coachmen of Paris are usually excessively in- 
solent, I shall not be sorry to hear that they 
have at length met with their deserts. A coach- 
man who was driving me yesterday told me in the 
strictest confidence that he was a man who nev- 
er meddled in politics, and, consequently, it was 
a matter of absolute indifference to him wheth- 
er Napoleon ora" General Prussien " lived in 
the Tuileries; and this, I suspect, is the view 
that many here take, if they only dared say it. 

It is amusing to observe how every one has 
entered into the conspiracy to persuade the 
world that the French nation never desired war 
— to hear them, one would suppose that the 
Rhine had never been called the national fron- 
tier of France, and that the war had been enter- 
ed into by Badinguet, as they style the late Em- 
peror, against the wishes of the army, the peasant- 
ry, and the bourgeoisie. Poor old Badinguet 
has enough to answer for already, but even sen- 
sible Frenchmen have persuaded themselves that 
he, and he alone, is responsible for the war. 
He is absolutely loathed here. I sometimes 
suggest to some Gaul that he may possibly be 
back again some day; the Gaul immediately 
rolls his eyes, clenches his fists, and swears that 
if ever Badinguet returns to Paris he (the Gaul) 
will himself shoot him. 

An American, who took an active part in the 
Confederate defense of Richmond, has just been 
in to see me. He does not believe that the 
town will hold out long, and scoffs at the mode 
in which it is being defended. I reserve my 
opinion until I have seen it under fire. Cer- 
tainly they " do protest too much." The pa- 
pers contain lists of citizens who have sworn 
to die rather than surrender. The bourgeois, 



when he goes off to the ramparts, embraces his 
wife in public, and assumes a martial strut as 
though he were a very Curtius on the way to 
the pit. Jules is perpetually hugging Jacques, 
and talking about the altar of his country on 
which he means to mount. I verily believe 
that the people walking on the Boulevards, 
and the assistants of the shops who deal out 
their wares in uniform, are under the impres- 
sion that they are heroes already, perilling life 
and limb for their country. Every girl who 
trips along thinks that she is a Maid of Saragos- 
sa. It is almost impossible for an Englishman 
to realize the intense delight which a French- 
man has in donning a uniform, strutting about 
with a martial swagger, and listening to a dis- 
tant cannonade. As yet, the only real hardships 
we have suffered have been that our fish is a lit- , 
tie stale, and that we are put on short allowance v 
of milk. The National Guards on the ramparts, 
I hear, grumble very much at having to spend 
the night in the open air. The only men I 
think I can answer for are the working-men of 
the outer faubourgs and a portion of the Pro- 
vincial Gardes Mobiles. They do mean to 
fight. Some of the battalions of the National 
Guards will fight too, but I should be afraid to 
trust the greater portion of them, even behind 
earth- works. "Remember," says the Figaro to 
them to-day, "that you have wives and chil- 
dren; do not be too venturesome." This ad- 
vice, I think, was hardly needed. As for the 
regular troops, they are not to be trusted, and I 
am not sorry to think that there are 10,000 sail- 
ors in the forts to man the guns. 

"We have been manifesting again to-day. I 
was in hopes that this nonsense was over. On 
the Place de la Concorde there was a crowd all 
the afternoon, applauding orators, and compa- 
nies of National Guards bringing bouquets to 
the statue of Strasburg. At the Hotel de Ville 
a deputation of officers of the National Guards 
came to urge the Government to put off the elec- 
tions. After a short parley this was promised. 
Another demonstration took place to urge the 
Government not to make peace, to accept as their 
colleagues some " friends of the people," and to 
promise not to re-establish in any form a police 
force. An evasive answer was given to these 
demonstrators. It seems to me that the Govern- 
ment, in its endeavors to prevent a collision be- 
tween the moderates and the ultras, yield inva- 
riably to the latter. What is really wanted is a 
man of energy and determined will. I doubt if 
Trochu has either. 

The bold Britons who tried to run the block- 
ade have returned. They managed to get over 
the bridge of Neuilly, but were arrested a few 
yards beyond it and brought back to General 
Ducrot. One of them was taken in with the 
passports of the five. "I can not understand 
you English," the General said ; "if you want to 
get shot we will shoot you ourselves to save you 
trouble." After some parley, General Ducrot 
gave them a pass to go through the French 
lines, but then he withdrew it, and said he must 



Sept. 24th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



15 



consult General Trochu. When the spokesman 
emerged, he found his friends being led off by 
a fresh batch of patriots for having no passports, 
but they at length got safely back to the Grand 
Hotel. Their leader, who was an intelligent 
man in his way, gives a very discouraging ac- 
count of what he saw outside. The Mobiles 
were lying about on the roads, and every one 
appeared to be doing much what he pleased. 
This afternoon I went up to the Trocadero to 
look at the heights on which they say that there 
are already Prussian guns. They appear most 
uncomfortably near. Those who had telescopes 
declared that they could see both guns and Prus- 
sians. We were always told until within a few 
days that Mont Valerien would protect all that 
side of Paris. How can the engineers have 
made such a mistake? 

This evening I went to call upon one of the 
chiefs of '48, and had an interesting conversa- 
tion with him. He says that many think that 
he and his friends ought to be in the Govern- 
ment, and that eventually they all will be ; he 
added, "the Reds are determined to fight, and 
so long as the Government does not make a hu- 
miliating peace they will support it." I tried 
to get out what he considered a humiliating 
peace, but he rather fenced with the question. 
He tells me that at the Folies Bergeres, the 
head-quarters of the ultras, great dissatisfaction 
is felt with the Committees of the "Clubs "for 
having gone yesterday to the Hotel de Ville, 
and endeavored to force the Government to de- 
clare that it would not treat with the Prussians 
while they were on French soil, and to allow 
them to establish a " Commune " as an imperi- 
um in imperio. "The army of the Loire," said 
my friend, "will soon fall on the rear of the 
Prussians ; we have only to hold out for a few 
weeks, and this, depend upon it, we shall do." 
Now, to the best of my belief, the army of the 
Loire only exists on paper, but here was a sen- 
sible man talking of it as though it consisted 
of some 200,000 seasoned troops ; and what is 
more strange, he is by no means singular in his 
belief. A fortnight ago it was the army of Ly- 
ons, now it is the army of the Loire. How rea- 
sonable men can allow themselves to put their 
faith in these men of buckram, I can not imag- 
ine. 

September 23d. 
Firing has been going on since three o'clock 
this morning. The newspapers contain ac- 
counts more or less veracious respecting fights 
outside the forts, in which great numbers of 
Prussians have been killed. M. Jules Favre 
publishes an account of his interview with 
Count Bismarck in the Journal Officiel. M. 
Villemessant in the Figaro informs the world 
that he has left his wife outside, and would 
willingly allow one of his veins to be opened in 
exchange for a letter from her. We are still 
engaged in our old occupation — willing to die 
for our country. I hear that there has been 
serious fighting in the neighborhood of St. Den- 
is. This morning I saw another of the '48 Re- 



publicans — he seemed inclined to upset the Gov- 
ernment more on the ground that they are in- 
capable than because he differs with them in 
politics. I give this letter to a friend who will 
get it into the balloon, and go off to the Troca- 
dero, to see how things are getting on. 

The Solferino Tower on the Buttes Mont- 
martre has been pulled down. No one is to 
be allowed to hoist the Geneva flag unless the 
house contains at least six beds for wounded. 
We have now a bread as well as a meat max- 



September 1Wh. 

We are as despondent to-day as we were jubi- 
lant yesterday. The success at the front seems 
to have dwindled down to an insignificant ar- 
tillery combat. The Electeur Libre gives the 
following account of it. On the previous even- 
ing 8000 Prussians had taken the redoubt of 
Villejuif. At one in the morning some regi- 
ments advanced from there towards Vitry, and 
occupied the mill of Sagui, while on the left 
about 5000 established themselves on the pla- 
teau of Hautes-Bruyeres. The division of Gen- 
eral Maud'huy retook these positions. At five 
o'clock in the morning the Prussians tried to 
occupy them a second time, but failed, and at 
half-past seven o'clock they fell back. At nine 
they attacked again, when a column of our 
troops, issuing from the Porte d'ltalie, arrived. 
The fray went on until ten o'clock, when the 
Prussians retreated towards Sceaux. This tal- 
lies to a great extent with what I was told by 
an officer this morning who had taken part in 
the engagement. 

The Gazette OfficieUe contains a decree cash- 
iering M. Devienne, President of the Cour de 
Cassation, and sending him to be judged by his 
own court, for having been the intermediary 
between Badinguet and his mistress, Margue- 
rite Bellanger. Two letters are published 
which seem to leave no doubt that this worthy 
judge acted as the go-between of the two lovers. 

Mr. George Sanders, whilom United States 
Consul in London, and one of the leaders of the 
ex-Confederacy, is here ; he is preparing plans 
for a system of rifle-pits and zigzags outside the 
fortifications, at the request of General Trochu. 
Mr. Sanders, who took an active part in the 
defense of Richmond, declares that Paris is 
impregnable, if it be only well defended. He 
complains, however, that the French will not 
use the spade. 

4 o'clock p.m. 

We have been in a state of wild enthusiasm 
all this afternoon. .At about 1 o'clock it was 
rumored that 20,000 Prussians and 40 cannon 
had been taken. There had been a heavy fir- 
ing, it was said, this morning, and a Prussian 
force had approached near the forts of Ivry and 
Bicetre. General Vinoy had issued forth from 
Vincennes, and, getting behind them, had forced 
them under the guns of the forts, where they 
were taken prisoners. The Boulevards imme- 
diately were crowded ; here a person announc- 
ing that he had a dispatch from the front, here 



16 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Sept. 25th. 



another vowing he had been there himself. 
Wherever a drum was heard there was a cry 
of " Here come the prisoners !" Tired of this, 
at about 4: o'clock I drove to Montrouge. It is 
a sort of Parisian Southwark. I found all the 
inhabitants lining the streets, waiting, too, for 
news. A regiment marched in, and there was 
a cry that it had come from the front ; then ar- 
tillery filed by Out of the city gate. I tried my- 
self to pass, and had got half-way through be- 
fore I was stopped, then I was turned back. 
The prisoners here, close by the scene of action, 
had dwindled to 5000. Imagine Southwark, 
with every man armed in it, and a battle go- 
ing on at Greenwich, and you will have an 
idea of the excitement of Montrouge. 

6 P.M. 

The Boulevards almost impassable; the streets 
before the Mairies absolutely impassable ; no of- 
ficial confirmation of the victory. Every one 
who is not inventing news is waiting for it. A 
proclamation has been issued by General Tro- 
chu, conceived in a very sensible spirit, telling 
the National Guard that the moment is ill 
chosen for pacific demonstrations, with crowns 
and bouquets. I hear that some of the soldiers 
who ran away at Clamart have been shot. 

Some of the papers discovered in the Tuil- 
eries are published. There is a letter from 
Jecker to Conti, in which he says that De 
Morny had promised him to get the Mexican 
Government to pay his claims on condition of 
receiving 30 per cent, of profits. A letter sign- 
ed Persigny complains that an employe in the 
Cabinet Noir is in want, and ought to be given 
money to prevent his letting out secrets. A 
letter from the Queen of Holland tells Napo- 
leon that if he does not interfere in Germany 
his own dynasty will suffer. A note of the 
Emperor, without date, says, "If France boldly 
places itself on the terrain of the nationalities, 
it is necessary to prove that the Belgian nation- 
ality does not exist. The Cabinet of Berlin 
seeming ready to enter into negotiations, it 
would be well to negotiate a secret acte, which 
would pledge both parties. This act would 
have the double advantage of compromising 
Prussia and of being for her a pledge of the 
sincerity of the Emperor." The note then goes 
on to say that it is necessary to dissipate the 
apprehensions of Prussia. "An acte is want- 
ed," it continues; "and one which would con- 
sist of a regulation of the ulterior fate of Belgi- 
um in concert with Prussia would, by proving 
at Berlin that the Emperor desires the extension 
which is necessary to France since the events 
which have taken place in Germany, be at least 
a relative certainty that the Prussian Govern- 
ment would not object to our aggrandizement 
towards the North." 

I drove this morning through the fighting fau- 
bourgs with a member of the Barricade Commit- 
tee. Barricades are being erected everywhere, 
and they are even stronger than the outer for- 
tifications. There are, too, some agreeable lit- 
tle chemical surprises for the Prussians if ever 



they get into the town. In reply to some sug- 
gestions which I made, my friend said, "Leave 
these people to form their own plans. They 
understand street fighting better than any one 
in the world." At La Villette, Grenelle, and 
other faubourgs inhabited by the blouses, there is 
no lack of patriotism, and they will blow them- 
selves and their homes up rather than yield. 

The bold Britons started again in their Derby 
turn-out yesterday. Nothing has been heard 
of them since. We do not know whether they 
have been imprisoned or what has become of 
them. I have already intrusted my letters to 
balloons, boatmen, peasants, and Americans, but 
I do not know whether they have reached you or 
not. The last balloon was pursued by a Prus- 
sian one, the newspapers say ! 

Yesterday the Nuncio called together all the 
diplomatists still here, and they determined to 
try to communicate with Bismarck. They seem 
to imagine that a twenty -four hours' notice 
will be given before a bombardment commences, 
when they will have time to get out. I send 
this letter by a Government balloon. I shall 
send a copy to-morrow by a private balloon, if 
it really does start as announced. 

The Gazette Officielle " unites with many cit- 
izens in asking Louis Blanc to go to England, 
to obtain the s} r mpathies of the English nation 
for the Republic." This is all very well, but 
how is he to get there ? 

September 25th. 

No news of any importance from the front. 
It is a fete-day, but there are few holiday- 
makers. The presence of the Prussians at the 
gates, and the sound of the cannon, have at 
last sobered this frivolous people. Frenchmen, 
indeed, can not live without exaggeration, and 
for the last twenty-four hours they have taken 
to walking about as if they were guests at their 
own funerals. It is hardly in their line to play 
the justum et tenacem of Horace. Always act- 
ing, they are now acting the part of Spartans. 
It is somewhat amusing to see the stern gloom 
on the face of patriots one meets, who were 
singing and shouting a few days ago — more 
particularly as it is by no means difficult to 
distinguish beneath this outward gloom a cer- 
tain keen relish, founded upon the feeling that 
the part is well played. One thing, however, 
is certain, order has at length been evolved 
from disorder. Except in the morning, hardly 
any armed men are to be seen in the streets, 
and even in the central Boulevards, except 
when there is a report of some success or dur- 
ing an hour in the evening, there are no crowds. 
In the fighting faubourgs there is a real gen- 
uine determination to fight it out to the last. 
The men there have arras, and they have not 
cared to put on uniforms. Men, women, and 
children are all of one mind in the quarters of 
the working-men. I have been much struck 
with the difference between one of these poor 
fellows who is prepared to die for the honor of 
his country, between his quiet, calm demeanor, 
and the absurd airs, and noisy brawls, and the 



Sept. 25th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



17 



dapper uniforms of the young fellows one meets 
with in the fashionable quarters. It is the dif- 
ference between reality and sham, bravery and 
bombast. 

The newspapers are beginning to complain 
of the number of Chevaliers of the Red Cross, 
who are daily becoming more numerous. Lazy 
men, they say, should not enroll themselves in 
a corps of non-combatants. It is said, also, 
that at Clamart these chevaliers declined to go 
under fire and pick up the wounded, and that 
the ambulances themselves made a strategic 
movement to the rear at the commencement of 
the combat. The flag of the Convention of 
Geneva is on far too many houses. From my 
window I can count fifteen houses with this flag 
floating over them. 

We have most wonderful stories about the 
Prussians, which, although they are generally 
credited, I take leave to doubt. Villagers who 
have slipped through the lines, and who play 
the part of the intelligent contraband of the 
American Civil War, are our informants. They 
represent the Prussian army without food, al- 
most without clothing, bitterly repenting their 
advance into France, demoralized by the con- 
viction that few of their number will be again 
in their homes. We are treated every day, 
too, to the details of deeds of heroism on the 
part of Mobiles and Nationaux, which would 
make Achilles himself jealous. There is, we 
are told, a wonderful artilleryman in the fort 
before St. Denis, the perfection of whose aim 
carries death and destruction into the Prussian 
ranks. 

I am not sorry to learn that the sale of the 
ultra papers is not large. M. Blanqui's office 
was yesterday broken into by some National 
Guards, who made it clear to this worthy that 
he had ill chosen his moment to attack the 
Government. I have not myself the slightest 
dread of a general pillage. The majority of 
the working-men no doubt entertain extreme 
Socialist ideas, but any one of them who de- 
clined to make any distinction between his 
property and that of his richer neighbors would 
be very roughly handled. So long as the Gov- 
ernment sticks to its policy of no surrender, it 
will be supported by the faubourgs ; if, how- 
ever, it attempts to capitulate upon humilia- 
ting terms, it will be ejected from the Hotel de 
Ville. A sharp bombardment may, perhaps, 
make a change in public opinion, but I can 
only speak of the opinion of to-day. The Gov- 
ernment declares that it can never be run short 
of ammunition ; but it seems to me that we can 
not fire off powder and projectiles always, and 
that one of these mornings we shall be told that 
we must capitulate, as there is no more am- 
munition. Americans who are here complain 
very much of the Parisians in not using the 
spade more than they do. Earth-works, which 
played so large a part in the defense both of 
Sevastopol and Richmond, are unknown at 
Paris. Barricades made of paving-stones in 
the streets, and forts of solid masonry outside, 



are considered the ne plus ultra of defensive 
works. For one man who will go to work to 
shovel earth, you may find a thousand who will 
shoulder a musket. "Paris may be able to 
defend itself," the Americans say, "but it is 
not defending itself after what our generals 
would consider the most approved method." 
We have no intelligence of what is passing in 
France beyond our lines. We presume that a 
great army is forming beyond the Loire ; but 
yesterday a friend of mine, who received this 
assurance from M. Gambetta, could not dis- 
cover that he had any reason to believe it, ex- 
cept the hope that it was true. 

It is a somewhat singular thing that Roche- 
fort, who was regarded even by his friends as a 
vain, mad-brained demagogue, has proved him- 
self one of the most sensible and practical mem- 
bers of the Government. He has entirely sub- 
ordinated his own particular views to the exi- 
gencies of the defense of the capital ; and it is 
owing to his good sense that the ultras have not 
indulged in any revolutionary excesses. 

I have already endeavored to forward to you, 
by land, water, and air, copies of the Tuileries 
papers which have been published. That poor 
old pantaloon, Villemessant, the proprietor and 
editor of the Figaro, who is somewhat roughly 
handled by them, attempts to defend himself in 
his paper this morning, but utterly fails to do 
so. His interested connection with the Imperial 
Government is proved without the shadow of a 
doubt, and I trust that it will also prove the 
death of his newspaper, which has long been a 
disgrace to the press of France. I went to look 
after the proprietor of another paper yesterday, 
as he had promised me that, come what may, he 
would get his own and my letters through the 
Prussian lines. My friend, I found, had taken 
himself off to safe quarters before the last road 
was closed. For my part, I despise any Paris- 
ian who has not remained here to defend his 
native city, whether he be Imperialist or Re- 
publican, noble or merchant. 

Evening (Sunday). 

They could stand it no longer ; the afternoon 
was too fine. Stern patriotism unbent, and 
tragic severity of demeanor was forgotten. The 
Champs Elysees and the Avenue de la Grande 
Armee were full of people. Monsieur shone by 
his absence ; he was at the ramparts, or was 
supposed to be there ; but his wife, his children, 
his bonne, and his kitchen wench issued forth, 
oblivious alike of dull care and of bombarding 
Prussians, to enjoy themselves after their wont 
by gossiping and lolling in the sun. The Stras- 
burg fetish had its usual crowd of admirers. 
Every bench in the Champs Elyse'es was occu- 
pied. Guitars twanged, organs were ground, 
merry-go-rounds were in full swing, and had it 
not been that here and there some regiment was 
drilling, one would have supposed one's self in 
some country fair. There were but few men ; no 
fine toilets, no private carriages. It was a sort 
of Greenwich park. At the Arc de Triomphe 
was a crowd trying to discover what was go- 



18 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PAEIS. 



[Sept. 26th. 



ing on upon the heights above Argenteuil. Some 
declared they saw Prussians, while others with 
opera-glasses declared that the supposed Prus- 
sians were only trees. In the Avenue de l'lm- 
pe'ratrice was a large crowd gazing upon the 
Fort of Mont Valerien. This fort, because I 
presume it is the strongest for defense, is the 
favorite of the Parisians. They love it as a 
sailor loves his ship. " If I were near enough, " 
said a girl near me, " I would kiss it." " Let 
me carry your kiss to it," replied a Mobile, and 
the pair embraced, amid the cheers of the peo- 
ple round them. At Auteuil there werejiacres 
full of sight-seers, come to watch the Prussian 
batteries at Meudon, which could be distinctly 
seen. Occasionally, too, there came a puff of 
smoke from one of the gunboats. 

September 26th. 

Do the Prussians really mean to starve us 
out? The Government gave out a fortnight 
ago that there was food then within the city for 
two months' consumption for a population of 
two millions. It is calculated that, including the 
Mobile, there are not above 1,500,000 mouths 
at present to feed, so that with proper care the 
supplies may be made to last for three months. 
Prices are, however, already rising. We have 
a bread and a meat maximum, but to force a 
butcher to sell you a cutlet at the tariff price, 
one has to go with a corporal's guard, which 
can not always be procured. The Gazette Of- 
ficielle contains a decree regulating the sale of 
horse-flesh. I presume, if the siege lasts long 
enough, dogs, rats, and cats will be tariffed. 
I have got 1000 francs with me. It is impos- 
sible to draw upon England ; consequently, I 
see a moment coming when, unless rats are rea- 
sonable, I shall not be able to afford myself the 
luxury of one oftener than once a week. When 
I am at the end of my 1000 francs, I shall be- 
come an advocate for Felix Pyat's public tables, 
at which, as far as I understand his plan, those 
who have money pay, and those who have not 
eat. 

Yesterday was a quiet day. The forts occa- 
sionally fired to " sound the enemy's lines," but 
that was all. But how is it all to end ? In a 
given time the Parisians will eat themselves out 
and fire themselves out. The credulity of the 
public is as great as ever. We are told that 
"France is rising, and that in a few weeks three 
armies will throw themselves on the Prussians, 
who are already utterly disorganized." In vain 
I ask, "But what if these three armies do not 
make their appearance ?" I am regarded as an 
idiot for venturing to discredit a notorious fact. 
If I dared, I would venture to suggest to some 
of my warlike friends that a town which simply 
defends itself by shutting its gates, firing into 
space, and waiting for apocryphal armies, is not 
acting a very heroic part. 

M. F. Pyat announces in the Combat that the 
musket of honor which is to be given to the man 
who shoots the King of Prussia is to have in- 
scribed upon it the word "Peace-maker." We 
have taken it into our heads that the German 



army, Count Bismarck, the Crown Prince, and 
all the Generals of the Corps d'Armee are in 
favor of peace, and the only obstacle to its be- 
ing at once concluded lies in the obstinacy of 
the Monarch, whom we usually term "that 
mystic drunkard." 

The Rappel contains the report of a meeting 
which was held last night of all the Republican 
Committees. Resolutions were adopted blam- 
ing the Government for putting off the munici- 
pal elections. The adjournment, however, of 
these elections is, I am convinced, regarded as 
a salutary measure by a majority even of the 
ultras. 

I dropped into the English Embassy this morn- 
ing to see what was doing there. Mr. Wode- 
house, I understand, intends to leave before the 
bombardment commences. He is a civilian, 
and can not be blamed for this precautionary 
measure. I can not, however, suppose that the 
military attache', who is a colonel in the army, 
will remain. There is a notion among the 
members of the Corps Diplomatique that the 
Prussians before they bombard the town will 
summon it to surrender. But it seems to me 
very doubtful whether they will do so. Indeed, 
I for one shall not believe in a general bombard- 
ment before I see it. To starve us out seems 
to me their safest game. Were they to fire on 
the town, the public opinion of the civilized 
world would pronounce against them. 

The Mobiles, who receive 1 franc 50 centimes 
a day, complain that they are unable to support 
themselves on this pittance. The conduct of 
these peasants is above all praise. Physically 
and morally they are greatly the superiors of the 
ordinary run of Parisians. They are quiet, or- 
derly, and, as a rule, even devout. Yesterday 
I went into the Madeleine, where some service 
was going on. It was full of Mobiles listening 
to the prayers of the priest. The Breton regi- 
ments are accompanied by their priests, who bless 
them before they go on duty. If the Parisians 
were not so thoroughly conceited, one might hope 
that the presence of these villagers would have 
a beneficial effect upon them, and show them 
that the Frenchmen out of Paris are worth more 
than those within it. The generation of Paris- 
ians which has arrived at manhood during the ex- 
istence of the Empire is, perhaps, the most con- 
temptible that the world has ever seen. If one 
of these worthies is rich enough, his dream has 
been to keep a mistress in splendor ; if this has 
been above his means, he attempts to hang on 
to some wealthy vaurien. The number of per- 
sons without available means who somehow 
managed to live on the fat of the land without 
ever doing a single day's honest work had be- 
come enormous. Most of them have, on some 
pretext or other, sneaked out of Paris. One 
sees now very few ribbons of the Legion of Hon- 
or, notwithstanding the reckless profusion with 
which this order was lavished : the Emperor's 
flock, marked with the red streak, have disap- 
peared. 

We have received news through a carrier pig- 



Sept. 27tii.] 



THE BESIEGED EESIDENT IN PARIS. 



18 



eon that one of the postal balloons has reached 
Tours. I trust that it will have carried my let- 
ter to you. I intend henceforward to confide i 
mv letter to the post every second day, and, as ' 
I have got a copying-machine, to send copy by , 
any messenger who is attempting to run the j 
blockade. We are told that balloons are to 
leave every evening ; but as the same announce- 
ment informs us that they will not only take let- 
ters but officials appointed to functions in the 
provinces, I am afraid that there is almost too 
much promised to render it likely that the pro- i 
gramme will be carried out. 

Afternoon, i 

I have just made an attempt to see what is { 
going on between the forts and the ramparts, ! 
which has been a failure. I had obtained an j 
order to circulate for the necessities of the de- 
fense from a member of the Government, and 
with this in my pocket I presented myself at 
several of the gates. In vain I showed my 
pass, in vain I insisted upon the serious conse- 
quences to Paris in general, and to the officer 
whom I was addressing in particular, if I were 
not allowed to fulfill my circulating mission. 
I had to give it up at last, and to content my- 
self with circulating inside the ramparts. On 
.them, however, I managed to get, thanks to a 
tradesman with whom I had often dealt, who 
was in command. I was told that a member 
of the Government, his name no one seemed to 
know, had addressed the " poste " yesterday, 
and urged the men to resist until one or other 
of the armies which were forming in the prov- 
inces could arrive and crush the enemy. Ev- 
ery thing appeared where I was ready for an 
attack. The sentinels were posted at short in- 
tervals, the artillerymen were lying about near 
their guns, and in the Rue des Remparts there 
were several hundred National Guards. They 
appeared to be taking things easily, complained 
that the nights were a little chilly, and that busi- 
ness at home was at a stand-still. In the course 
of my walk I saw a great many barricades in 
process of formation. Eventually, I presume, 
we shall have a second line of defenses within 
the outer walls. This second line has already 
been divided, like the ramparts, into nine sec- 
tions, each with a separate commander. I met 
at least a dozen soi-disant Prussian spies being 
conducted to prison. Each of them was sur- 
rounded by twelve men, with bayonets fixed. 
Coming home I saw nine French soldiers with 
placards bearing the inscription, "Miserable 
cowards." Of course, the usual crowd accom- 
panied them. I heard that they were on their 
way to be shot. 

The newspapers of this afternoon make a 
good deal of noise about the exploits of the 
gun-boat in the bend of the Seine between Point 
du Jour and Boulogne. They claim that its 
gun has dismounted the Prussian batteries on 
the terrace of Meudon, and that it successfully 
engaged several field-batteries which fired upon 
it from the Park of St. Cloud. This may or 
may not be true. We are also called upon to 



believe that five shots from Fort Ivry destroyed 
the Prussian batteries at Choisy le Roi. 

The latest proclamation issued is one from 
General Trochu, in which he says that it was 
the fault of no one that the redoubts which 
were in course of construction when the Prus- 
sians arrived before the town were not finished, 
and that they were abandoned for strategical 
reasons. 

The latest Ultra paper publishes the account 
of a meeting which was remarkable, it observes, 
for the " excellent spirit which animated it, and 
the serious character of the speeches which were 
delivered at it." This is one of these serious 
orations — "The Citizen Arthur de Fonvielle 
recommends all citizens to exercise the greatest 
vigilance as regards the manoeuvres of the Po- 
lice, and more especially those of the Pre'fet of 
the Police. This Ministry has passed from the 
hands of a Corsican into those of one of the 
assassins of the Mexican Republic." I derive 
considerable amusement from the perusal of the 
articles which are daily published reviling the 
world in general for not coming to the aid of 
Paris. I translate the opening paragraphs of 
one of them which I have just read: — "In the 
midst of events which are overwhelming us, 
there is something still more melancholy than 
our defeat : it is our isolation. For a month 
the world looks on with an impassibility, min- 
gled with shame and cynicism, at the ruin of a 
nation which possesses the most exquisite gifts 
of sociability, the principal jewel of Europe, and 
the eternal ornament of civilization." Nothing 
like having a good opinion of one's self. 

Evening. 

I hear of some one going to try to-morrow to 
get through the lines, so I give him a copy of 
this letter. My last letter went off— or rather 
did not go off — by a private balloon. The 
speculator rushed in, just as I expected him to 
be off, and said, "Celestine has burst." To 
my horror I discovered that he was speaking of 
the balloon. He then added, "Ernestine re- 
mains to us," and to Ernestine I confided my 
letter. I have not seen the speculator since ; 
it may be that Ernestine has burst too. 

The latest canard is that 10,000 Prussians are 
in a wood near Yillejuif, where they have been 
driven by the French. As they in the most 
cowardly manner decline to come out of it, the 
wily Parisian braves are rubbing the outer cir- 
cle of trees over with petroleum, as a prepara- 
tory step to burn them out. This veracious 
tale is believed by two-thirds of Paris. 



CHAPTER III. 



September 27th, 3 a.m. 
I have sent you numerous letters, but I 
am not aware whether you have received them. 
As very probably they are now either in the 
clouds or in the moon, I write a short resume 
of what has passed since we have been cut off 
from the outer world, as I believe that I have 



20 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Sept. 27th. 



a very good chance this morning to communi- 
cate with you. 

When the town was first invested the greatest 
disorder existed. For a few days officers, even 
generals, were shot at by regiments outside the 
fortifications; the National Guards performed 
taeir service on the ramparts very reluctantly, 
and, when possible, shirked it. The Mobiles 
were little better than an armed mob of peas- 
ants. The troops of the line were utterly de- 
moralized. The streets were filled with troop- 
ers staggering about half drunk, and by groups 
of armed Mobiles wandering in ignorance of 
the whereabouts of their quarters and of their 
regiments. The Government was divided into 
two parties — one supported by the Moderates, 
and anxious to make peace on reasonable 
terms ; the other supported by the Ultras, and 
determined to continue the contest at all haz- 
ards. The Ministers were almost in despair at 
finding the utter disorder in which every thing 
had been left by their predecessors. Little by 
little this condition of things has mended for 
the better. Since the failure of the mission of 
M. Jules Favre, and the exorbitant demands 
which were then put forward by Count Bis- 
marck, both Moderates and Ultras have sup- 
ported the men who are in power. It is felt 
by all that if Paris is to be defended with any 
prospect of success, there must be absolute un- 
ion among its defenders. The Deputies of Par- 
is are not thought perhaps to be endowed with 
any very great administrative ability, but Mr. 
Lincoln's proverb respecting the difficulty of a 
person changing his horse while he is crossing 
a stream is acted on, and so long as they nei- 
ther commit any signal act of folly, nor attempt 
to treat with Prussia either for peace or a ca- 
pitulation, I think that no effort will be made 
to oust them. They are, I believe, doing their 
best to organize the defense of this city, and if 
they waste a little time in altering the names 
of the streets, and publishing manifestoes couch- 
ed in grand and bombastic phrases, it must be 
remembered that they have to govern French- 
men who are fond of this species of nonsense. 
With respect to the military situation, the sol- 
diers of all sorts are kept well together, and ap- 
pear to be under the command of their officers. 
The National Guard, although it still grumbles 
a little, does its duty on the ramparts. The 
soldiers of the line are kept outside the town. 
The Mobiles have passed many hours in drill 
during the last ten days ; they are orderly and 
well conducted, and if not soldiers already, are 
a far more formidable force than they were 
at the commencement of the siege. Whether 
they will ever become available for operations 
in the open field is, perhaps, questionable, for 
their regiments would probably be thrown into 
confusion if called upon to act together. With- 
in the line of the forts, however, there is no 
reason to suppose that they will not fight well. 
The forts are manned by sailors, who are excel- 
lent artillerists, and the guns are formidable 
ones. On the Seine there is a flotilla of gun- 



boats. The city has food and ammunition for 
two months. Paris, therefore, ought to be able 
to hold out for these two months. She has 
her own population, a large portion of which 
consists of the working-men, who have never 
been backward in fighting. The provinces have 
been drained of their best blood, which has 
been brought up to the capital. All that re- 
mains of the French army is here. At the low- 
est average the armed force in Paris amounts 
to 450,000 men, and there are about 500,000 
more from which this force can recruit itself. 
If, then, the capital does not hold out for two 
months, she will deserve the contempt of the 
world — if she does hold out for this period, she 
will at least have saved her honor, and, to a cer- 
tain extent, the military reputation of France. 

The newspapers are still pursuing the very 
questionable policy of exaggerating every little 
affair of the outposts into a victory, and assur- 
ing those who read their lucubrations that pow- 
erful armies are on the march to raise the siege. 
The only real military event of any consequence 
which has taken place has resulted in a Prus- 
sian success. The French were driven back 
from some half-finished redoubts at Chatillon, 
and the Prussians now occupy the heights be- 
tween Sevres and Meudon, from whence, if they 
establish batteries, they will be able to shell a 
portion of the town. In the second affair which 
took place, absurd stories have been repeated re- 
specting the advantages gained by the French ; 
but they are, to say the least, extremely apoc- 
ryphal, and even were they true they are of 
small importance. For the last few days the 
forts have fired upon any Prussian troops that 
either were or were supposed to be within shot ; 
and the gun-boats have attempted to prevent the 
erection of batteries on the Sevres-Meudon pla- 
teau. In point of fact, the siege has not really 
commenced ; and until it is seen how this vast 
population bears its hardships, how the forts re- 
sist the guns which may be brought to. bear 
upon them, and how the armed force conducts 
itself under fire, it is impossible to speculate 
upon results. 

Considering the utter stagnation in trade, the 
number of working-men out of employment, 
and the irritation caused by defeat, it must be 
admitted that the Parisians of all classes are 
behaving themselves well. The rich residents 
have fled, and left to their poorer neighbors the 
task of defending their native city. There have 
been no tumults or disorders, except those 
caused by the foolish mania of supposing every 
one who is not known must necessarily be a 
spy. Political manifestations have taken plnce 
before the Hotel de Ville, but the conciliatory 
policy adopted by the Government has prevent- 
ed their degenerating into excesses. Public 
opinion, too, has pronounced against them. 
From what I have heard and observed, I am in- 
clined to think that the majority of the bour- 
geoisie are in favor of a' capitulation, but that 
they do not venture to say so; and that the 
majority of the working-men are opposed to 



Sept. 27th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



21 



peace on any terms. They do not precisely 
know themselves what would be the result of 
holding out, but they vaguely trust to time and 
to the chapter of accidents. In the middle and 
upper classes there are also many who take the 
same view of the situation. "Let us," they 
say, "hold out for two months, and the condi- 
tion of things will in all probability be altered, 
and if so, as we can not be worse off, any change 
must be to our advantage." 

Shut up with the Parisians in Paris, I can 
not help feeling a good deal of sympathy for 
them, notwithstanding their childish vanity, 
their mendacity, and their frivolity. I sincere- 
ly trust, therefore, if they do seriously resist 
their besiegers, that the assurances of the Gov- 
ernment that there are ample supplies of food 
and of ammunition, are not part of the system 
of official lying which was pursued by their 
predecessors ; and I hope that the grandiloquent 
boasts and brave words that one hears from 
morning to night will be followed by brave 
deeds. 

This morning Messenger Johnson was sent 
off with dispatches to England from the British 
Embassy. He was provided with a safe-con- 
duct, signed by General Trochu, and a letter to 
the Commandant of the Fort of Vanves, en- 
joining him to forward Mr. Johnson under a 
flag of truce to the Prussian lines. At half- 
past nine Messenger Johnson, arrayed in a pair 
of high boots with clanking spurs, the belong- 
ings, I presume, of a Queen's messenger, step- 
ped into his carriage, with that "I should like 
to see any one touch me" air which is the 
badge of his tribe. His coachman being al- 
ready drunk, he was accompanied by a second 
man, who undertook to drive until Jehu had 
got over the effect of his potations. I myself 
have always regarded Queen's messengers as 
superior beings, to be addressed with awe, and 
whose progress no one would venture to arrest. 
Such, however, was not the opinion of the Na- 
tional Guards who were on duty at the gate 
through which Messenger Johnson sought to 
leave this beleaguered town. In vain Messenger 
Johnson showed his pass ; in vain he stated that 
he was a free-born Briton and a Queen's Mes- 
senger. These suspicious patriots ignored the 
pass, and scoffed at the Civis Romanus. In fact, 
I tremble as I write it, several of them said they 
felt somewhat inclined to shoot any Briton, and 
more particularly a Queen's Messenger, while 
others proposed to prod Messenger Johnson 
with their bayonets in his tenderest parts. 
Exit, under these circumstances, was impossi- 
ble. For some time Messenger Johnson sat 
calm, dignified, and imperturbable in the midst 
of this uproar, and then made a strategical re- 
treat to the Ministry of War. He was there 
given an officer to accompany him ; he again 
set forth, and this time he was more fortunate, 
for he got through the gate, and vanished from 
our horizon. I called at the Embassy this af- 
ternoon, and found our representative, Mr. 
Wodehouse, confident that Messenger Johnson 



would arrive at his destination. Mr. "Wode- 
house, when I left him, was engaged in paci- 
fying a lunatic, who had forced his way into 
i the Embassy, and who insisted that he was the 
! British Ambassador. I was surprised to learn 
: that there are still at least 300 of our country- 
men and women in Paris. Most of them are 
in a state of absolute destitution, some because 
they have no means, others because they are 
unable to draw upon the funds in England. 
Mr. Herbert has established a species of soup- 
; kitchen, so they will not starve until we all do. 
Mr. Wallace, the heir of Lord Hertford, who 
had already given the munificent donation of 
£12,000 to the Ambulance fund, has also pro- 
i vided funds for their most pressing wants. 

In to-day's Journal des Debats M. John Le- 
[ moinne points out to his readers that M. Bis- 
j marck, in his remarks to M. Jules Favre, ex- 
pressed the opinion of Germany, and that the 
expression of his views respecting the necessity 
of Germany annexing Alsace and Lorraine is 
not necessarily an insult to France. The war, 
says M. Lemoinne, never was a war of mon- 
archs, but a war of nations. France as well as 
the Emperor is responsible for it. It must con- 
tinue to be, he continues, a war a outrance be- 
tween two races. The terms of peace proposed 
by M. Bismarck can not be accepted by France. 
The moderate tone and dignified melancholy 
of this article contrasts favorably with that of 
almost all the leaders in the other papers, and 
more particularly in those of the ultra-Repub- 
lican press. In La France, a moderate and 
well-conducted journal, I find the following re- 
marks: — "Paris is the capital of France and 
of the world. Paris besieged is a beautiful, a 
surprising spectacle. The sky is blue, the at- 
mosphere is pure, this is a happy augury ; fif- 
teen days of patience on the part of the Pa- 
risians, fifteen days to arm in the provinces, and 
the German army will be irreparably compro- 
mised. It will then be unable to cut its way 
out of the circle of fire which will surround it." 
When journals of the standing of La France 
deal in this sort of nonsense, it is not surprising 
i that the ex-Imperialist organs, which are en- 
j deavoring to curry favor with the mob, are still 
more absurd. The Figaro concludes two col- 
umns of bombast with the following flight: — 
J "But thou, O country, never diest. Bled in 
: all thy veins by the butchers of the North, thy 
\ divine head mutilated by the heels of brutes, the 
j Christ of nations, for two months nailed on the 
! cross, never hast thou appeared so great and so 
beautiful. Thou neededst this martyrdom, O 
! our mother, to know how we love thee. In or- 
; der that Paris, in which there is a genius which 
' has given her the empire of the world, should 
fall into the hands of the barbarians, there must 
£ease to be a God in heaven. As God she exists, 
' and as God she is immortal. Paris will never 
surrender." When it is remembered that this 
ignorant, vain, foolish population has for nearly 
twenty years been fed with this sort of stuff, it 
is not surprising that even to this hour it can 



22 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PAEIS. 



[Sept. 27th. 



not realize the fact that Paris is in any danger 
of being captured. The ultra-Kepublican press 
is becoming every day more virulent. M. Blan- 
qui, in his organ, La Patrie en Danger, after 
praising the act of a person of the name of Ma- 
let, who last February shot an officer who re- 
fused to shout "Vive la Republique," thus con- 
tinues : — "I was reminded of this when the 
other day I saw defile on the boulevards a regi- 
ment of rustic peasants. I raised my hat to 
salute these soldiers of liberty, but there was no 
response from them. Malet would have raised 
the kepi of one of the captains with a bullet, 
and he would have done well. Let us be with- 
out pity. Vive Marat ! We will do justice 
ourselves. . . ." The ultra-Republicans, of the 
stamp of M. Blanqui and M. Felix Pyat, seem 
to be under the impression that it is far more 
important to establish a Republican form of 
Government in France than to resist the Prus- 
sians. In the meetings which they hold every 
evening they clamor for the election at once of 
a municipality, because they hope to become 
themselves members of it, and then to absorb 
all the power which is now wielded by the 
Provisional Government. Beyond discrediting 
themselves by these attempts to disturb the har- 
mony within the walls, which is of such vital 
importance at the present moment, I do not 
think that they will do much. I have talked 
to many working-men, and whatever may be 
their political opinions, they are far too sensi- 
ble to play the game of the Prussians by weak- 
ening the existing Government. After the Prus- 
sians perhaps the deluge ; but as long as they are 
before Paris, and the Provisional Government 
does not capitulate, I do not dread any political 
disorders. What we may come to, are bread- 
riots. There is already an immense deal of 
misery, and as the siege continues and provi- 
sions rise in price, it will of course increase. 

I was talking this morning to a gentleman 
who u.°ed at one time to play a very important 
part in public life, who is well acquainted with 
most of the members of the Government, and 
who is a man of calm judgment. I was anx- 
ious to obtain his opinion upon the situation, 
and this is a resume of what he told me. ' ' When 
Jules Favre, " he said, ' ' went to Bismarck, he 
was prepared to agree to the dismantlement of 
the fortresses of Alsace and Lorraine, the ces- 
sion of half the fleet, the payment of an in- 
demnity of eighty millions of pounds, and an 
agreement for a term of years not to have a 
standing army of more than 200,000 men. A 
Constituent Assembly would have ratified these 
terms. The cession of a portion of the fleet is 
but tantamount to the payment of money. The 
conscription is so unpopular that a majority of 
the nation would have been glad to know that 
the standing army would henceforward be a 
small one. As for the fortresses, they have not 
been taken, and yet they have not arrested the 
Prussian advance on Paris ; consequently their 
destruction would not seriously weaken the de- 
fenses of the country." I asked whether Paris 



would now consent to these terms. "No," he 
said, "if the Government offered them there 
would be a revolution. Paris, rightly or wrong- 
ly, believes that she will be able to hold out for 
two months, and that during this time there 
will be a levee en masse." "And do you share 
this opinion ?" I asked. " I am not of a very 
sanguine character, "he replied; "but I really 
am now inclined to believe that the Prussians 
will never enter Paris unless they starve us into 
a surrender." "Then," I said, "I suppose 
they will starve us out." " I am an old man," 
he said, " and I always remember Philip's say- 
ing, ' Time and I are two.' In two months 
many things may happen. Winter is coming 
on. The Prussian army is composed of men 
engaged in business at home and anxious to re- 
turn ; the North does not love the South, and 
divisions may arise. The King of Prussia is an 
old man, and he may die. Without absolutely 
counting upon a French army raising the siege, 
there are levees forming in Lyons and elsewhere, 
and the Germans will find their communications 
seriously menaced. Russia, too, and Austria 
may interfere, so I think that we are wise to re- 
sist as long as we can." " But if you have to 
capitulate, what will happen ?" I asked. ' ' If we 
do capitulate, our disaster will be complete," he 
answered. " I do not anticipate disorders ; the 
population of Paris is an intelligent one ; it 
wishes the Government to resist as long as it 
can, but not to prolong an impossible situation. 
Paris must do her part in defending the coun- 
try, she can do no more." " Well," I said, 
" supposing that the Prussians were to with- 
draw, and peace were to be concluded on rea- 
sonable terms, what do you think would take 
place ?" " Gambetta, Jules Favre, and the ma- 
jority of the Parisian Deputies would call a 
Constituent Assembly as soon as possible, and 
resign power into its hands. They are moder- 
ate Republicans, but between a Red Republic 
and a Constitutional Monarchy they would pre- 
fer the latter. As practical men, from what I 
know of them, I am inclined to think that they 
would be in favor of the Orleanist family — ei- 
ther the Comte de Paris or the Due d'Aumale." 
"And would the majority of the Constituent 
Assembly go with them ?" I asked. "I think 
it would," he replied. "The Orleanist family 
would mean peace. Of late years Frenchmen 
have cared very little for military glory ; their 
dream has been to save money. One advan- 
tage of our disasters is that it has limited the 
number of pretenders to the Throne, for after 
the capitulation of Sedan, neither the army nor 
the peasants will support a Bonaparte. There will 
be two parties — the ultra-Republicans, and the 
advocates of a Constitutional Monarchy under a 
Prince of the house of Orleans. Unless the 
friends of the Orleans Princes commit some great 
fault, they are masters of the situation." 

I went down this morning to the Halles Cen- 
trales. There was very little going on. Bonnes 
were coming to market, but most of the booths 
were untenanted, and the price of vegetables, 



Sept. 28th.] 



THE BESIEGED KESIDENT IN PARIS. 



23 



eggs, and butter was exorbitant. "Why do 
you complain of me ?" said a dealer to a cus- 
tomer — " is it my fault ? Curse Badinguet and 
that wretch of a Bismarck ; they choose to fight, 
so you must pay double for these carrots." The 
batchers yesterday published an appeal against 
the maximum ; they said that the cost of ani- 
mals was so great that they positively were los- 
ing upon every joint which they sold. A new 
proclamation of the Mayor has just been issued, 
announcing that five hundred oxen and 4000 
sheep will daily be slaughtered and sold to the 
butchers at a price to enable them to gain 20 
per cent, by retailing meat at the official tariff. 
I find that, come what may, we have coffee and 
sugar enough to last many months, so that, pro- 
vided the bread does not fail, we shall take some 
time to starve out. 

This afternoon a dense column of smoke was 
seen rising in the air in the direction of La Vil- 
lette, and it gradually covered the town with a 
dark cloud. The pessimists among the Boule- 
vard gendarmes insisted that the town had been 
set on fire by the Prussians ; the optimists were 
convinced that the 10,000, who for some reason 
or other are supposed to be in a wood, patiently 
waiting to be roasted, were being burnt. It 
turns out that some petroleum in the Buttes de 
Chaumont caught fire. After burning about 
two hours, the fire was put out by heaping dirt 
on it. 

The Prussians still occupy the plateau of 
Meudon, and dispatches from the forts say that 
troops are supposed to be concentrating between 
Meudon and Sevres. We have come to the 
conclusion that as the Prussians do not fire 
upon Grenelle and Auteuil, they have neither 
Krupp nor siege guns. I trust this may prove 
true. News has been received from Tours ; it 
was brought by an officer who ran the blockade. 
We are much elated to learn that the result of 
M. Jules Favre's interview has been posted up 
throughout France. We believe that the effect 
of this measure "will be equal to an army." 
The Post-office informs the public that a regu- 
lar system of balloons has been organized, and 
that letters will be received and forwarded to 
the provinces and abroad, provided they do not 
weigh above four grammes. A deputation of 
English and American correspondents waited 
to-day on M. Jules Favre, to ask him to give 
them facilities to send their letters by the bal- 
loons. This he promised to do. He also half 
promised to let all correspondents have a pass, 
on stating who they are. The worst of a pass 
is, that it is no protection against arrest, for, 
say your captors, "Prussian spies are so cun- 
ning that they would be precisely the persons 
to have papers, either forged or stolen." An- 
other trouble is, that if you are arrested, you 
are generally shut up, with half a dozen thieves 
and drunkards, for about twenty-four hours, 
before a Commissary condescends to inquire 
into your case. No one as yet has ever troub- 
led me ; but the spy mania certainly does not 
add to the charm of the residence of a stranger 



in Paris just now. I would rather run the 
chance of being hit during a bombardment, 
than affront the certainty of twenty-four hours 
in a filthy police cell. Suspicion is, no doubt, 
carried to a ridiculous excess ; but it is equally 
true that unquestionable spies are arrested every 
day under every sort of disguise. Mr. Wash- 
burne told me yesterday that he saw a soi-disant 
"Invalide" arrested, who turned out to be a 
regular spectacled Dutchman. 

September 2Sth. 

Nothing new at the front. We suppose that 
the enemy are concentrating troops upon the 
Sevres-Meudon plateau, and that they intend 
to attack on that side. We are confident that 
the guns of Mont Vale'rien will prevent the suc- 
cess of this attack. On the opposite side of 
Paris they are endeavoring to erect batteries ; 
but they are unable to do so on account of the 
fire of Fort Nogent. It seems to me that we 
are shouting before we are quite out of the 
wood ; but we are already congratulating our- 
selves upon having sustained a siege which 
throws those of Saragossa and Richmond into 
the shade. If we have not yet been bombard- 
ed, we have assumed " an heroic attitude of ex- 
pectation ;" and if the Prussians have not yet 
stormed the walls, we have shown that we were 
ready to repel them if they had. Deprived of 
our shepherd and our sheep-dogs, Ave civic sheep 
have set up so loud a ba-ba, that we have terri- 
fied the wolves who wished to devour us. In 
the impossible event of an ultimate capitulation 
we shall hang our swords and our muskets over 
our fire-places, and say to our grandchildren, 
"I, too, was one of the defenders of Paris." 
In the mean time, soldiers who have run away 
when attacked are paraded through the streets 
with a placard on their breasts, requesting all 
good citizens to spit upon them. Two courts- 
martial have been established to judge spies and 
marauders, and in each of the nine sections 
there is a court-martial to sit upon peccant Na- 
tional Guards. "The sentence," says the de- 
cree, " will at once be executed by the detach- 
ment on duty." We are preparing for the 
worst ; in the Place of the Pantheon, and oth- 
er squares, it is proposed to take up the paving- 
stones, because they will, if left, explode shells 
which may strike them. The windows of the 
Louvre and other public edifices are being filled 
with sand-bags. This morning I was walking 
along the Rue Lafayette, when I heard a cry 
"A bas les cigares!" and I found that if I 
continued to smoke, it was thought that I 
should set light to some ammunition-wagons 
which were passing. 

Yesterday evening there was a report, which 
was almost universally credited, that a revolu- 
tion had broken out in London, because the 
English Government had refused to aid Paris 
in driving back the Prussians. The Parisians 
find it impossible to understand that the world 
at large can see little distinction between a 
French army entering Berlin and a Prussian 
army entering Paris. Their capital is to them 



24 



THE BESIEGED EESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Sept. 28th. 



a holy city, and they imagine that the Christian 
world regards the Prussian attack upon it much 
as the Mohammedan world would regard a bom- 
bardment of Mecca. No doubt it will be a 
shocking thing to bombard a city such as this, 
filled with women and children ; still, being an 
Englishman, I can not see that it would be 
worse than to bombard London. The newspa- 
pers of this morning contain a precis of a let- 
ter from " our Fritz " to William " the mystic 
drunkard." Our Fritz writes to his papa to say 
that he ought to have accepted peace when it 
was proffered by Jules Favre. How the con- 
tents of the letter are known in Paris is not 
stated. But here we know every thing. We 
know that at a council of war held two days 
ago at Versailles a majority declared that it was 
impossible to take Paris. We know that the 
German soldiers are dying of starvation and 
clothed in rags. We know that they are forced 
by their officers, against their will, to attack 
their French brothers. Did not yesterday a 
National Guard himself take five Prussian pris- 
oners ? They were starving, and thankfully ac- 
cepted a piece of bread. They had a wounded 
companion in a wheelbarrow, who continually 
shook his fist in the direction of the " mystic 
drunkard," and plaintively moaned forth the 
only French word he knew, " Miserable, mise- 
rable!" Did not another National Guard go 
into a house recently occupied by "Bavari- 
ans," and find the following words written on a 
shutter — " Poor Frenchmen, we love you : they 
force us to fight against you?" I believe all 
this, and many other strange facts, because I see 
them in print in the newspapers. Can it possi- 
bly be that I am over-credulous ? Am I wrong, 
too, in believing that France is rising en masse, 
that Moltke did not understand his business in 
advancing on Paris, and that he will be crushed 
by the armies of the Loire and a dozen other 
places — if, indeed, our gallant heroes congrega- 
ted in Paris give their brethren outside time to 
share in the triumph of defeating him? En 
attendant, we eat, drink, and are reasonably 
merry ; our defenders mount guard, and drill 
when they are off guard. Our wary Mobiles 
outside not only refuse to allow Prussians to 
pass, but such is their vigilance, they generally 
arrest officers of any regiment except their own 
who come within their ken. These worthy fel- 
lows will, I believe, fight with bravery. The 
working-men, too, are engaged in heaping up 
barricades, and are ready to allow themselves 
to be killed and their landlords' houses to be 
blown up rather than surrender. The sailors 
in the forts are prepared to hold them like ships 
against all comers. The " infantry of the ma- 
rine " is commanded by an old tar who stands 
no nonsense. A few days ago he published an 
order complaining that the marines "undulated 
under fire." Some of his officers went to him 
as a deputation to protest against this slur on 
them and their men ; but he cut their remon- 
strances short by immediately cashiering the 
spokesman. To-day he announces that if his 



men are supplied with drink within the limits 
of his command he will burn down all the pot- 
houses. It is greatly to be deplored that the 
determined spirit of this Admiral does not ani- 
mate all his brother commanders ; they are per- 
petually engaged in discussing with those who 
are under their orders, and appear to be afraid 
to put down insubordination with a high hand. 
If ever they venture upon any act of rigor, 
they are called upon by the Ultra press to justi- 
fy it, and they generally do so in a lengthy let- 
ter. 

I have been, as the Americans say, much ex- 
ercised of late respecting certain persons whom 
I have seen strolling about the streets, avoiding 
as much as possible their species. Whenever 
any one looked at them they sneaked away with 
deprecating glances. They are dressed in a 
sort of pea-jacket, with hoods, black trowsers, 
and black caps, and their general appearance 
was a cross between a sailor and a monk. I 
have at length discovered with surprise that 
these retiring innocents are the new sergeants- 
de-ville of M. Keratry, who are daily denounced 
by the Ultras as feroc-ious wolves eager to rend 
and devour all honest citizens. If this be true, 
I can only say that they are well disguised in 
sheep's clothing. 

Letters from Paris, if ever they do get to Lon- 
don, must necessarily be so dull, that they can 
hardly repay the trouble of reading them. Life 
here is about as lively as life on board a ship. 
The two main subjects of conversation, the mil- 
itary preparations within the town, and the 
amount of food, are in honor tabooed to corre- 
spondents. With respect to the former I will 
only say, that if the Prussians do carry the forts 
and the enceinte, they will not have taken Paris ; 
with regard to the latter, I can state that we 
shall not be starved, out for some time. Besides 
the cattle which have been accumulated, we have 
90,000 horses; and although a cab-horse may 
not taste as good as Southdown mutton, I have 
no doubt that Parisian cooking will make it a 
very palatable dish for hungry men ; there are, 
too, a great many dogs, and the rats have not 
yet left the sinking ship. As for coffee and 
sugar, we have enough to last for six months ; 
and, unless the statistics of the Government are 
utterly worthless, come what may, we shall not 
lack bread for many a day. 

The Rump of the Corps Diplomatique has 
held a second meeting, and a messenger has 
been sent to Bismarck to know — 1st, whether he 
means to bombard the city ; 2d, whether, if he 
does, he intends to give the usual twenty-four 
hours' notice. Diplomates are little better than 
old women when they have to act on an emer- 
gency. Were it not for Mr. Washburne, who 
was brought up in the rough-and-ready life of 
the Far We6t, instead of serving an apprentice- 
ship in Courts and Government offices, those 
who are still here would be perfectly helpless. 
They come to him at all moments, and although 
he can not speak French, for all practical pur- 
poses he is worth more than all his colleagues 



Sept. 29tii.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



25 



put together. Lord Lyons, would, I believe, 
have remained, had he not been over-persuaded 
by timid colleagues, who were ordered to do as 
he did. It is a great pity that he did not act 
according to his own judgment ; but Republics, 
we know, are not in good odor with courtiers. 
As for that poor creature Metternich, he was ut- 
terly demoralized. He was more of a Cham- 
berlain of Badinguet than an Ambassador, and, 
of course, when his friend disappeared, he took 
the earliest opportunity to follow his example. 
September 29th. 

We still are cut off from the outer world, 
but neither "the world forgetting," nor, we im- 
agine, "by the world forgot." The inhabit- 
ants of the "Mecca of civilization" are still, 
like Sister Anne, looking out for some one to 
come to their assistance. I am utterly sick and 
tired of the eternal brag and bombast around 
me. Let the Parisians gain some success, and 
then celebrate it as loudly as they please : but 
why, in the name of common sense, will they 
rejoice over victories yet to come? "We are 
preserving," they say, "a dignified expectative 
attitude." Mr. Micawber put the thing in 
more simple vernacular when he said that he 
was waiting for something to turn up. "Eirst 
catch your hare," is a piece of advice which our 
patriots here would scoff at. They have not 
yet caught the Prussians, but they have already, 
by a flight of imagination, cooked and eaten 
them. Count Moltke may as well — if I am to 
believe one quarter of what I hear — like the 
American coon, come down. In a question of 
military strategy between the grocers of Paris 
and the Prussian generals I should have thought 
that the odds were considerably in favor of the 
latter, but I am told that this is not so, and that 
in laying siege to Paris they are committing a 
mistake for which a school-boy would be de- 
servedly whipped. 

If you eliminate the working-class element, 
which has not been corrupted by the Imperial 
system, the population of this town is much 
what I imagine that of Constantinople to have 
been when it was taken by the Turks. They 
are Greeks of the lower empire. Monsieur 
sticks his kepi on one side of his head, and 
struts and swaggers along the Boulevard as 
though he were a bantam cock. We have lost 
the petits creves who formed so agreeable an 
element in society, but they have been replaced 
by the military dandy, a being, if possible, still 
more offensive. This creature mounts some 
sorry screw and parades the Boulevard and the 
Champs Elyse'es, frowning dismally upon the 
world in general, and twirling his mustache 
with the one hand, while he holds on to the 
saddle with the other. His sword is of the 
longest, his waist is of the tightest, and his 
boots are of the brightest. His like is only to 
be seen in England when the Battle of Water- 
loo is played at Astley's, but his seat is not as 
good as that of the equestrian warriors of that 
establishment. As he slowly paces along he 
gazes slyly to see how many people are looking 



' at him, and it must be owned that those who 
do see him vastly admire him. What manner 
of beings these admirers are may be imagined 
from their idol. No contrast can be greater 
than that which exists between the Parisian 
Bobadils and the Provincial Mobiles. The 
latter are quiet and orderly, eager to drill and 
without a vestige of bluster — these poor peasants 
are of a very different stuff from the emascula- 
ted, conceited scum which has palmed itself off 
on Europe as representative Frenchmen. The 
families with whom they lodge speak with won- 

: der of their sobriety, their decency, and their 
simple ways, and in their hearts almost despise 
them because they do not ravish their daugh- 
ters or pillage their cellars ; and neither swear 
every half-hour to die for their country, nor 
yell the "Marseillaise." If Paris be saved, it 
will be thanks to them and to the working-men 
of the capital. But it will be the old sic vos 
non vobis story : their brave deeds and unde- 
monstrative heroism will be forgotten, and Jules 
and Alphonse, the dandies and braggarts of the 
Boulevard, will swear to their own heroism. I 
trust that the Prussians will fail to take Paris, 
because I think that the Erench are right to 

. fight on rather than submit to the dismember- 
ment of their country ; and because I prefer a 
Republic to a Monarchy where a King reigns 
by right divine. But when I read the bombast- 
ic articles in the newspapers — when I see the 
insane conceit and the utter ignorance of those 
with whom I am thrown — when I find them 
really believing that they are heroes because 

, they are going, they say, to win battles, it is 
difficult to entertain any great sympathy for 
them. How utterly must poor old Badinguet, 
before whom they cringed for years — who used 
them, bought them, and made his market out 
of their vanity, their ignorance, and their love 
of theatrical claptrap, despise them, as he dreams 
again through life's dream in the gardens of his 
German prison. They call him now a " sinis- 
ter scoundrel " and a " lugubrious stage-player." 
But he was their master for many a long year, 
and they owe their emancipation from his yoke 
to Prussian arms and not to themselves. 

A committee of "subsistence" has been es- 
tablished. The feud between the butchers and y 
the public still continues, and most of the meat- 
stalls are closed. The grocers, too, are charg- 
ing absurd prices for their goods. La Liberie 
suggests that their clients should do themselves 
justice, and one of these mornings, unless these 
gentiy abate their prices, some grocer will be 
found hanging before his door. Although pro- 
visions are plentiful, the misery is very great. 
Beggars increase in number every day — they 
are like one of the plagues of Egypt. I was 
taking a cup of coffee this morning before a 
cafe, and I counted twenty-three beggars who 
asked me for money while I was sitting there. 
We still derive much comfort from caricaturing 
Badinguet, William, and Bismarck. The latest 
effort represents Badinguet and William as 
Robert Macaire and Bertrand. Another rep- 



26 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PAKIS. 



[Sept. 30th. 



resents Badinguet eating an eagle. " Coquin," 
says William, " what are you doing with your 
eagle?" "Eating it," replies Badinguet; 
"what else can I do with it?" Little statu- 
ettes, too, of the "two friends," Badinguet and 
William, are in great request. William, with 
an immense mustache, scowls at Badinguet, 
who humbly kneels before him. 

M. Jules Favre, in reply to the English press 
deputation, sent last night to say that each cor- 
respondent must make a personal application 
to General Trochu. I know what that means 
already. All I ask is that my letters should be 
put up in a balloon. As for passes, I have one 
already, and it has not been of the slightest 
service to me. Les Nouvelles heads an article 
" English Spies," and proposes that to simplify 
the question of whether they are spies or not, 
all English in Paris should at once be shot. I 
can not say that I personally have found any 
ill-feeling to exist against me because I am an 
Englishman. Yesterday afternoon I was in a 
crowd, and some one suggested that I was a 
spy ; I immediately mounted on a chair and ex- 
plained that I was a "journalist Anglais," and 
pointed out to my friends that they ought to be 
obliged to me for remaining here. " If any 
one doubts me," I added, "let us go to the 
nearest commissary." No one did doubt me, 
and fifty patriots immediately shook hands with 
me. The French people are apt to form hasty 
judgments sometimes, and to act on them still 
more hastily, but if one can get them to listen 
for a moment, they are reasonable, and soon 
their natural good-nature asserts itself. The 
zealous but well-intended Mobiles are the most 
dangerous, for they shoot you first and then 
apologize to your corpse. An order is placard- 
ed to-day of Governor Trochu's, announcing 
that any one trying to pass the lines will be sent 
before the Courts-martial, or if he or she runs 
away when ordered to stop, will be shot on the 
spot. This latter clause allows a very great lat- 
itude for zeal, more particularly as the " lines " 
just now are little more than a geographical 
expression. Their Emperor is a prisoner, the 
enemy is thundering at their gates, they are 
shut up here like rats in a hole ; they have been 
vanquished in the only engagement they have 
had with their besiegers, and yet they still be- 
lieve that, compared with them, the Germans 
are an inferior race, and, like the slave before 
Marius, will shrink abashed before the majesty 
of Paris. " If we," say their newspapers, "the 
wisest, the best, the noblest of human beings, 
have to succumb to this horde of barbarians 
that environ us, we shall cease to believe in the 
existence of a Providence." 

The movement on the part of the ' ' Ultras " to 
elect at once a municipality is gaining strength. 
Yesterday several chiefs of the faubourg battal- 
ions of the National Guard interviewed Jules 
Ferry on the subject. Ledru Eollin has de- 
clared himself in favor of it, and this morning 
there are evidences that the Government is in- 
clined to give way to the pressure, for a decree 



is published in the Journal Officiel ordering a 
registration of voters. The worst of French- 
men is that, no matter how patriotic each one 
may be, he is convinced that the interests of 
his country require that he should be one of its 
rulers. The men of '48 who have returned 
from exile are surprised that they are almost 
forgotten by the present generation, who regard 
them as interesting historical relics, and put 
their faith in new gods. At the clubs every 
evening the Government is denounced for re- 
fusing to admit into its ranks this or that patri- 
ot, or adjourning the municipal elections, and 
for not sending revolutionary agents into the 
provinces. A newspaper this morning makes 
the excellent suggestion that M. Blanqui, M. F. 
Pyat, and their principal adherents should be 
invited to proceed at once to the provinces in a 
balloon, invested with the rank of Government 
agents. "They can not," it adds, "do so 
much harm there as they are doing here ; and 
then, too, the balloon may burst." Personally, 
I should be glad to see a moderate Republic 
established here, for I regard a Court as a 
waste of public money ; but it seems to me that 
Republicans should remember that it is for the 
nation, and not for them, to decide what shall 
henceforward be the form of government. 



CHAPTER IV. 



September 30th. 
We are still beating our tom-toms like the 
Chinese, to frighten away the enemy, and our 
braves still fire off powder at invisible Uhlans. 
The Prussians, to our intense disgust, will not 
condescend even to notice us. We jeer at 
them, we revile them, and yet they will not at- 
tack us. What they are doing we can not 
understand. They appear to have withdrawn 
from the advanced positions which they held. 
We know that they are in the habit of making 
war in a thoroughly ungentlemanly manner, 
and we can not make up our minds whether 
our " attitude " is causing them to hesitate, or 
whether they are not devising some new trick 
to take us by surprise. That they are starving, 
that their communications with Germany are 
cut off, that their leaders are at loggerheads, 
that the Army of the Loire will soon be here 
to help us to demolish them, we have not the 
slightest doubt. The question is no longer 
whether Paris will be taken — that we have 
solved already ; it is whether the Prussians 
will be able to get back to the Rhine. We are 
thankful that Bismarck did not accept Jules 
Favre's offer of a money indemnity. We would 
not give a hundred francs now to insure peace 
or an armistice. I went this morning into a 
shop, the proprietor of which, a boot-maker, I 
have long known, and I listened with interest 
to the conversation of this worthy man with 
some of his neighbors who had dropped in to 
have a gossip, and to congratulate him on his 
martial achievements, as he had been on guard 



Sept. 30tii.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



27 



in a bastion. We first discussed why the 
Army of the Loire hud not arrived, and we 
came to the conclusion that it Avas engaged in 
rallying Bazaine. "I should like to read your 
English newspapers now," said one; "your 
Times told us we ought to cede Alsace and 
Lorraine, but its editor must now acknowledge 
that Paris is invincible." I told him that I felt 
convinced that he did so regularly every morn- 
ing. "No peace," shouted a little tailor, who 
had been prancing about on an imaginary steed, 
killing imaginary Prussians, " we have made a 
pact with death ; the world knows now what 
are the consequences of attacking us." The 
all-absorbing question of subsistence then came 
up, and some one remarked that beef would 
give out sooner than mutton. "We must 
learn," observed a jolly grocer, "to vanquish 
the prejudices of our stomach. Even those 
who do not like mutton must make the sacri- 
fice of their taste to their country." I mildly 
suggested that perhaps in a few weeks the 
stomachs which had a prejudice against rats 
would have to overcome it. At this the coun- 
tenance of the gossips fell considerably, when 
the boot-maker, after mysteriously closing the 
door, whispered, "A secret was confided to me 
this morning by an intimate friend of General 
Trochu. There is a tunnel which connects 
Paris with the provinces, and through it flocks 
and herds are entering the town." This news 
cheered us up amazingly. My boot-maker's 
wife came in to help him off with his military 
accoutrements ; so, with a compliment about 
Venus disarming Mars, I withdrew in company 
with an American, who had gone into the shop 
with me. This American is a sort of trans- 
atlantic Bunsby. He talks little, but thinks 
much. His sole observation to me as we walk- 
ed away was this, "They will squat, sir, mark 
my words, they will squat." I received this 
oracular utterance with respect, and I leave it 
to others to solve its meaning. I am myself a 
person of singular credulity, but even I some- 
times ask myself whether all I hear and read 
can be true. "Was there really, as all the news- 
papers this morning inform me, a meeting last 
Sunday at London of 400,000 persons, who 
were addressed by eminent M.P.'s, and by the 
principal merchants and owners of manufac- 
tories in England, at which resolutions were 
adopted denouncing the Queen, and calling 
upon Mr. Gladstone either to retire from office, 
or to declare war against Prussia ? 

The Tuileries correspondence, of which I gave 
a short summary yesterday, reveals the fact that 
both M. de Cassagnac and Baron Jerome David 
were regular pensioners on the Civil List. The 
cost of the Prince Imperial's baptism amounted 
to 898,000 fr. The cousins, male and female, 
of the Emperor, received 1,310,975 fr. per an- 
num ; the Due de Persigny received in two 
months, 60,000 fr.; Prince Jablonowyski, Count- 
ess Gajan, Madame Claude Vignon, Le Gene'- 
ral Morris, and many other ladies and gentle- 
men who never did the State any service, are 



! down for various sums. Among other items is 
one of 1200 fr. to General de Failly for sugar- 

i plums. Tht Duchess of Mouchy, whose name 
continually appears, received 2,000,000 fr. as a 
marriage portion. The son of the American 

I Bonaparte had a pension of 30,000 fr. ; Madame 
Ratazzi of 24,000 fr. ; her sister, Madame Turr, 

j the same ; Marquis Pepoli, 25,000£r. But the 

| poor relations do not appear to have been con- 
tented with their pensions, for on some pretext 
or other they were always getting extra allow- 
ances out of their rich cousin. As for Prince 
Achille Murat, the Emperor paid his debts a 
dozen times. Whatever he may have been to 
the outer world, poor old Badinguet seems to 
have been a Providence to his forty-two cousins 
and to his personal friends. He carried out 
Sydney Smith's notion of charity — put his hand 
into some one else's pocket, and gave away what 
he stole liberally. 

Figaro, with its usual good taste, recommends 
the battalions of the National Guard to choose 
celebrities of the demi monde for their vivandieres. 
From what I hear every day, I imagine that the 
battalions will be far more likely to hang the ed- 
itor of this facetious paper than to take his ad- 
vice. I hear from the kiosque women that its 
sale is falling off daily. 

The clubs and their organs have announced 
that the municipal elections are to take place, 
with or without the consent of the Government, 
on October 2, and that not only the inhabitants 
of Paris, but the Gardes Mobiles and the peas- 
ants who have taken refuge within the walls of 
the city are to vote. In the working-men's 
quarters there is undoubtedly a strong feeling in 
favor of these elections being held at once. But 
the working-men do not attend the clubs. I 
have dropped into several of them, and the au- 
dience appeared to me principally to be com- 
posed of strong-minded women and demagogues, 
who never did an honest day's work in their 
lives. The Government, has, however, been 
"interviewed" on the subject of the municipal 
elections by the chiefs of the battalions of the 
National Guards of the Faubourgs, and, if only 
some men of position can be found to put them- 
selves at the head of the movement, it will cause 
trouble. As yet, Ledru Rollin is the only known 
politician who avowedly favors it. The Gov- 
ernment is, I believe, divided upon the expe- 
diency of holding the elections at once, or rath- 
er I should say, upon the possibility of putting 
them off without provoking disturbances. I am 
inclined to think that, as is usually the case, the 
Moderates will yield on this point to their Ultra 
colleagues. Very possibly they may think that 
if ever a capitulation becomes necessary, it will 
be as well to make the nominees of the Fau- 
bourgs share in the responsibility. As Jules 
Favre said of Rochefort, they are perhaps safer 
in the Government than outside of it. 

The column of the Place Vendome is daily 
bombarded by indignant patriots, who demand 
that it should be razed to the ground, and the 
metal of which it is composed be melted down 



28 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 1st. 



into cannon. The statue of Napoleon L, in the 
cocked hat and greatcoat, which used to be on 
its summit, was removed a few years, .ago to a 
pedestal at the end of the Avenue'de la Grande 
Armee. It has been concealed to preserve it 
from the iconoclasts. There has been a lull of 
late in M. Gambetta's proclamations. "Within 
the last twenty-four hours, not above two fresh 
ones have appeared. The newspapers are be- 
ginning to clamor for a sortie. Why, they ask, 
are we to allow ourselves to be besieged by an 
army which does not equal in numbers our own ? 
"Why are we to allow them quietly to establish 
their batteries ? There is a certain amount of 
sense in these complaints, though the vital ques- 
tion of how regiments which have never had an 
opportunity of being brigaded together, will be 
able to vanquish in the open field the disciplined 
troops of Germany, is the unknown x in the 
problem which has yet to be solved. It is evi- 
dent, however, that the question must be tested, 
unless we are to remain within the fortifications 
until we have digested our last omnibus-horse. 
If the enemy attacks, there is fair ground to 
suppose that he will be repelled ; but then, per- 
haps he will leave us to make the first move. 
Without entering into details, I may say that 
considerable engineering skill has been shown 
of late in strengthening the defenses, that the 
Mobiles and the National Guard, if their words 
mean any thing, which has yet to be proved, are 
full of fighting, and that the armed force at our 
disposal has at length been knocked into some 
sort of shape. Every day that the Prussian at- 
tack is delayed diminishes its chance of success. 
"If they do carry the town by assault," said a 
general to me yesterday, " it will be our fault, 
for, from a military point of view, it is now im- 
pregnable." What the effect of a bombardment 
may be upon the morale of the inhabitants we 
have yet to see. In any case,' however, until 
several of those hard nuts, the forts, have been 
cracked, a bombardment can only be partial. 

There was heavy firing last night, and it in- 
creased in intensity this morning. At about 
one o'clock I saw above 100 wounded being 
brought to the Palais de lTndustrie, and on go- 
ing to Montrouge I found the church near the 
fortifications full of them. The following is the 
official account of what has happened : 

Our troops, in a vigorous sortie, successively 
occupied Chevilly and l'Hay, and advanced as 
far as Thiais and Choisy-le-Roi. All these 
positions were solidly occupied, the latter with 
cannon. After a sharp artillery and musketry 
engagement our troops fell back on their posi- 
tions with a remarkable order and aplomb. The 
Garde Mobile were very firm. En somme, jour- 
nee tres honorable. Our losses have been consid- 
erable. Those of the enemy probably as con- 
siderable. Titocnu. 

I need not add that as usual we have had 
rumors all day of a great victory and a junction 
with the Army of the Loire. General Trochu's 



dispatch, dated 10 30, Bicetre, reduces matters 
to their real dimensions. 

October 1st. 
Although the Government statistics respect- 
ing the amount of food in Paris have been pub- 
lished, and are consequently, in all probability, 
in the hands of the Prussians, I do not like to 
give them myself. It can, however, do no harm 
to explain the system which is being adopted by 
the authorities to make our stores hold' out as 
long as possible. Every butcher receives each 
morning a certain amount of meat, calculated 
upon his average sales. Against this meat he 
issues tickets in the evening to his customers, 
who, upon presentation of the ticket the next 
morning, receive the amount for which they 
have inscribed themselves at the price fixed by 
the tariff of the week. When tickets have been 
issued by the butcher equivalent to the meat 
which he is to receive, he issues no more. Yes- 
terday a decree was promulgated, ordering all 
persons having flour on sale to give it up to the 
Government at the current price. It will, I pre- 
sume, be distributed to the bakers, like the meat 
to the butchers. As regards meat, the supply- 
does not equal the demand — many persons are 
unable to obtain tickets, and consequently have 
to go without it. Restaurants can not get 
enough for their customers. This evening, for 
instance, at seven o'clock, on going into a res- 
taurant, I found almost every thing already eat- 
en up. I was obliged to " vanquish the preju- 
dices of my stomach," and make a dinner on 
sheep's trotters, pickled cauliflower, and peaches. 
My stomach is still engaged in "vanquishing 
its prejudice" to this repast, and I am yet in 
the agonies of indigestion. In connection, how- 
ever, with this question of food, there is another 
important consideration. Work is at a stand- 
still. Mobiles and Nationaux who apply forma 
pauperis receive one franc and a half per diem. 
Now, at present prices, it is materially impossi- 
ble for a single man to buy sufficient food to 
stave off hunger for this sum ; how then those 
who depend upon it for their sustenance, and 
have wives and families to support out of it, are 
able to live, it is difficult to understand. Soon- 
er or later the population will have to be ration- 
ed like soldiers, and if the siege goes on, useless 
mouths will have to be turned out. It was sup- 
posed that the peasants in the neighborhood of 
Paris, who were invited to take refuge within 
its walls, would bring more than enough food 
with them for themselves and their families, but 
they preferred to bring their old beds and their 
furniture. Besides our stores of flour, of sheep, 
and of oxen, we have twenty-two million pounds 
of horse-flesh to fall back upon, so that I do not 
think that we shall be starved out for some 
time ; still the misery among those who have 
no money to buy food will, unless Government 
boldly faces the question, be very great. Every 
thing, except beef, mutton, and bread, is already 
at a fancy price. Ham costs 7 fr, the kilo. ; 
cauliflowers, 1.50 fr. a head; salt butter, 9 fr. 
the kilo, (a kilo, is about two pounds) ; a fat 



Oct. 2d.] 



THE BESIEGED EESIDENT IN PAEIS. 



29 



chicken, 10 fr. ; a thin one, 5 fr. ; a rabbit, 11 
fr. ; a duck, 9 fr. ; a fat goose, 20 fr. 

Rents, too, are as vexed a question as they 
are in Ireland. In a few days the October 
term comes due. Few can pay it ; it is pro- 
posed, therefore, to allow no landlord to levy it 
either before the close of the siege or before De- 
cember. 

General Trochu, in his Rapport Militaire of 
yesterday's proceedings, expands his dispatch of 
yesterday evening. The object, he says, was, by 
a combined action on both banks of the Seine, 
to discover precisely in what force the enemy 
was in the villages of Choisy-le-Roi and Che- 
villy. Whilst the brigade of General Giulham 
drove the enemy out of Chevilly, the head of 
the column of General Blaize entered the vil- 
lage of Thiais, and seized a battery of cannon, 
which, however, could not be moved for want 
of horses. At this moment the Prussians were 
reinforced, and a retreat took place in good or- 
der. General Giulham was killed. General 
d'Exea, while this combat was going on, march- 
ed with a brigade on Creteil, and inflicted a se- 
vere loss with his mitrailleuse on the enemy. 
This report contrasts favorably with the florid, 
exaggerated accounts of the engagement which 
are published in this morning's papers. I am 
glad to find that France possesses at least one 
man who tells the truth, and who can address his 
fellow-citizens in plain language. The credu- 
lity, of the Parisians, and their love of high-flown 
bombast, amount to a disease, which, if this city 
is not . to sink into a species of Baden-Baden, 
must be stamped out. Mr. O' Sullivan recently 
published an account of his expedition to the 
Prussian head-quarters in the Electeur Libre. 
Because he said that the Prussians were con- 
ducting themselves well in the villages they oc- 
cupied, the editor of the paper has been over- 
whelmed with letters reviling him for publish- 
ing such audacious lies. Most Frenchmen con- 
sider any one who differs from them to be either 
a knave or a fool, and they fabricate facts to 
prove their theories. An "intelligent young 
man" published a letter this morning saying 
that he had escaped from Versailles, and that 
already 700 girls have been ravished there by 
the Prussians. This intelligent young man's 
tale will be credited, and Mr. O'Sullivan will 
be disbelieved by nine-tenths of this population. 
They believe only what they wish to believe. 

M. Rochefort has issued a "poster" begging 
citizens not to construct private barricades. 
There must, he justly observes, be "unity in 
the system of interior defenses." The Reveil 
announces that the Ultras do not intend to pro- 
ceed to revolutionary elections of a municipali- 
ty to-morrow, because they have hopes that the 
Government intend to yield on this question. 
The Prefect of the Police is actively engaged in 
an attempt to throw light upon Pietri's connec- 
tion with the plots which periodically came to 
a head against the Empire. Documents have 
been discovered which will show that most of 
these plots were got up by the Imperial police. 



1 Pietri, Lagrange, and Barnier, a juge dinstruc- 
| Hon, were the prime movers. A certain Ba- 
j blot received 20,000 fr. for his services as a 
I conspirator. 

The complaints of the newspapers against the 
number of young men who avoid military duty 
i by hooking themselves on in some capacity or 
I other to an ambulance are becoming louder ev- 
; ery day. For my part I confess that I look with 
\ contempt upon any young Frenchman I meet 
! with the red cross on his arm, unless he be a 
surgeon. I had some thoughts of making my- 
self useful as a neutral in joining one of these 
ambulances, but I was deterred by what hap- 
j pened to a fellow-countryman of mine who of- 
fered his services. He was told that thousands 
of applicants were turned away every day, and 
that there already were far more persons at- 
tached to every ambulance than were necessary. 
Dr. Evans, the leading spirit of the American 
ambulance, the man whose specialty it was to 
have drawn more royal teeth, and to have re- 
ceived more royal decorations, than any other 
human being, has left Paris. Mr. Washburne 
informs me that there are still about 250 Amer- 
icans here, of whom about forty are women. 
Some of them remain to look after their homes, 
others out of curiosity. "I regard," said an 
American lady to me to-day, who had been in a 
Southern city (Vicksburg, if I remember right- 
ly) when it was under fire, " a bombardment 
as the finest and most interesting effort of py- 
rotechnical skill, and I want to see if you Eu- 
ropeans have developed this art as fully as we 
have, which I doubt." 

October 2d. 
I wrote to General Trochu yesterday to ask 
him to allow me to accompany him outside the 
walls to witness military operations. His sec- 
retary has sent me a reply to-day regretting that 
the General can not comply with my request. 
The correspondent of the Morning Post inter- 
viewed the secretary yesterday on the same sub- 
ject, but was informed that as no laissez passer 
was recognized by the Mobiles, and as General 
Trochu had himself been arrested, the Govern- 
ment would not take upon itself the responsibili- 
ty of granting them. This is absurd, for I hear 
that neither the General nor any of his staff 
had been fired upon or arrested during the last 
week. The French military mind is unable to 
understand that the world will rather credit the 
testimony of impartial neutrals than official bul- 
letins. As far as correspondents are concern- 
ed, they are worse off under the Republic than 
even under the Empire. 

M. Louis Blanc's appeal to the people of 
England is declamatory and rhetorical in tone, 
and I am inclined to think that the people of 
England are but a Richard Doe, and that in 
reality it is addressed to the Parisians. M. 
j Blanc asks the English in Paris to bear witness 
j that the windows of the Louvre are being stuff- 
ed with sand-bags to preserve the treasures with- 
\ in from the risks of a bombardment. I do so 
i with pleasure. I can not, however, bear him 



30 



THE BESIEGED KESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 2d. 



out in his assertions respecting the menacing 
calm of Paris, and the indomitable attitude 
of its National Guards. M. Blanc, like most 
of his countrymen, mistakes the wish for the 
will, words for deeds, promises for performance. 
What has happened here, and what is happen- 
ing? The forts are manned with sailors, who 
conscientiously fire off their cannon. A posi- 
tion has been lost. Two sorties consisting of 
troops and armed peasants have been driven 
back. The National Guard does duty on the 
ramparts, drills in the streets, offers crowns to 
the statue of Strasburg, wears a uniform, and an- 
nounces that it has made a pact with death. I 
sincerely trust that they may distinguish them- 
selves, but they have not had an opportunity to 
do so. Not one of them has as yet honored his 
draft on death. Behind their forts, their troops, 
their crowd of peasants, and their ramparts, 
they boast of what they will do. If they do 
really bury themselves beneath the ruins of 
their capital they will be entitled to the admi- 
ration of history, but as yet they are civilians 
of the present and heroes of the future. Noisy 
blusterers maybe brave men. I have no doubt 
there are many in Paris ready to die for their 
country. I can, however, only deal with facts, 
and I find that the Parisians appear to rely for 
safety upon every thing except their own valor. 
One day it is the Army of the Loire ; another 
day it is some mechanical machine ; another 
day dissensions among the Prussian generals ; 
another day the intervention of Russia or Aus- 
tria. In the mean time, clubs denounce the 
Government ; club orators make absurd and 
impracticable speeches, the Mayor changes the 
names of streets, and inscribes Liberte', Egalite', 
and Fraternite on the public buildings. The 
journals of all colors, with only one or two ex- 
ceptions, are filled with lies and bombast, and 
the people believe the one and admire the other. 
The Minister of the Interior placards the walls 
with idle proclamations, and arrests Bonapart- 
ists. Innocent neutrals are mobbed as Prus- 
sian spies, and the only prisoners that we see 
are French soldiers on their way to be shot for 
cowardice. Nothing is really done to force the 
Prussians to raise the siege, although the de- 
fenders exceed in number the besiegers. How 
can all this end ? In a given time provisions 
and ammunition will be exhausted, and a ca- 
pitulation must ensue. I wish with all my 
heart that the hosts of Germany may meet with 
the same fate as befell the army of Sennacherib ; 
but they are not likely to be killed or forced to 
retreat by speeches, pacts with death, sentiment- 
al appeals, and exaggerated abuse. 

The Temps calculates that our loss on Friday 
amounted to about 500 wounded and 400 killed. 
The object of the sortie was to blow up a bridge 
over the Seine, and to rouse the courage of the 
Parisians by obtaining a marked success at a 
point where the Prussians were not supposed to 
be in force. Neither end was attained, and 
consequently we are greatly depressed. Count 
Bismarck has not condescended to send a reply 



to the Corps Diplomatique, requesting to be al- 
lowed to establish postal communication with 
their Governments, much to the disgust of that 
estimable body. 

The result of the pryings of the Government 
into the papers of their predecessors has as yet 
only disclosed the facts, that most of the con- 
spiracies against the Empire were got up by the 
police, and that the Emperor bribed porters and 
postmen to open letters. His main object seems 
to have been to get hold of the letters of his 
Ministers to their mistresses. The fourth li- 
vraison of the Tuileries papers contains the re- 
port of a spy on the doings of the Russian Mili- 
tary Attache'. This gentleman lost some docu- 
ment, and observes that it can only be his Prus- 
sian colleague who took it from him. Such is 
diplomacy. The weather is beautiful. Wom- 
en and children are making holiday in the 
streets. The inner line of barricades is nearly 
finished. 

Evening. 

The news of the fall of Strasburg and Toul was 
received by the Government here this morning, 
and has just been made public. "In falling," 
says M. Gambetta, " they cast a glance towards 
Paris to affirm once more the unity and indi- 
visibility of the Republic ; and they leave us as 
a legacy the duty to deliver them, the honor to 
revenge them." The Boulevards were crowd- 
ed, and every one seemed as much astonished 
as if they had never believed this double disas- 
ter to be possible. Many refused to credit the 
news. UElecteur Libre proposes to meet the 
emergency by sending "virile missionaries into 
the provinces to organize a levee en masse, to 
drive from our territory the impious hords 
which are overrunning it." These missionaries 
would, I presume, go to their posts in balloons. 
It never seems to occur to any one here that 
the authority of a Parisian dropping down from 
the clouds in a parachute in any province would 
be contested. The right of Paris to rule France 
is a dictum so unquestioned in the minds of the 
Parisians, that their newspapers are now urging 
the Government to send new men to Tours to 
oust those who were sent there before the com- 
mencement of the siege. It occurs to no one 
that the thirty-eight millions of Frenchmen out- 
side Paris may be of opinion that the centrali- 
zation of all power in the hands of the most 
corrupt and frivolous capital in the universe has 
had its share in reducing France to her present 
desperate condition, and may be resolved to as- 
sert their claim to have a voice in the conduct 
of public affairs. The Parisians regard all pro- 
vincials as helots, whose sole business it is to 
hear and to obey. If the result to France of 
her disasters could be to free her at once from 
the domination of the Emperor and of Paris, 
she would in the end be the gainer by them. 

I hear that General Vinoy expresses himself 
very satisfied with the soldierly bearing of the 
Mobiles who were under fire on Friday. It 
was far better, he says, than he expected. He 
ascribes the failure of his sortie to the forts hav- 



Oct. 6th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



31 



ing forewarned the Prussians by their heavy fir- 
ing between three and four o'olock in the morn- 
ing. M. de Rohan, " delegate of the democra- 
cy of England," has written a long letter to M. 
Jules Favre informing him that a friend who 
has arrived from London (!) has brought news 
of an immense meeting which has been held in 
favor of France, and that this meeting repre- 
sents the opinion of the whole of England. 
M. Jules Favre, in his reply, expresses his sin- 
cere thanks " for the sentiments which have 
been so nobly expressed in the name of the 
English nation." The correspondence occupies 
two columns in the Journal Officiel. M. de 
Rohan's residence in England is, I should imag- 
ine, in the vicinity of Tooley Street. 

October 3d. 
The Journal Officiel contains a decree order- 
ing the statue of Strasburg, on the Place de la 
Concorde, to be replaced by one in bronze. 
No war news. 



CHAPTER V. 

October 6th. 

From a military, or rather an engineering 
point of view, Paris is stronger to-day than it 
was two weeks ago. The defenses have been 
strengthened. With respect, however, to its de- 
fenders, they are much what they were. The 
soldiers of the line and the marines are sol- 
diers ; the Mobiles and the Nationaux, with 
some few exceptions, remain armed citizens. 
Each battalion is an imperium in imperio. The 
men ignore every one except their own officers, 
and these officers exercise but little influence 
except when they consent to act in strict ac- 
cordance with the feelings of those whom they 
are supposed to command. Some of the bat- 
talions appear to be anxious to fight, but it 
unfortunately happens that these are the very 
ones which are most undisciplined. The bat- 
talions of the bourgeois quarters obey orders, 
but there is no go in them. The battalions of 
some Faubourgs have plenty of go, but they do 
not obey orders. General Trochu either can 
not, or does not, desire to enforce military dis- 
cipline. Outside the enceinte, the hands of the 
Mobiles are against every man, but no notice is 
taken when they fire at or arrest officers of oth- 
er corps. The Courts-martial which sit are a 
mere farce. I see that yesterday a Franc- 
tireur was tried for breaking his musket when 
ordered to march. He was acquitted because 
the Court came to the conclusion that he was 
"un brave garcon." The application of mili- 
tary law to the Nationaux is regarded by these 
citizens as an act of arbitrary power. Yester- 
day several battalions passed the following res- 
olution : — "In order to preserve at once neces- 
sary discipline and the rights of citizens, no 
man shall henceforward be brought before a 
council of war, or be awarded a punishment, 
except with the consent of the family council 
of his company." 

I am not a military man, but it certainly does 



appear to me strange that the Prussians are al- 
lowed quietly to intrench themselves round the 
city, and that they are not disturbed by feints 
and real sorties. We can act on the inner lines, 
we have got a circular railroad, and we have 
armed men in numbers. General Trochu has 
announced that he has a plan, the success of 
which he guarantees ; he declines to confide to 
a soul any of its details, but he announces that 
he has deposited it with his notary, Maitre Du- 
clos, in order that it may not be lost to the 
world in the event of his being killed. As yet 
none has fathomed this mysterious plan ; it ap- 
pears to contemplate defensive rather than of- 
fensh-e operations. 

Mont Valerien now fires daily. Its com- 
mander has been changed ; its former one has 
been removed because the protests against the 
silence of this fort were so loud and strong. 
His successor, with the fate of his predecessor 
before him, bangs away at every Uhlan within 
sight. For the commanders of forts to be forced 
to keep up a continual fire in order to satisfy 
public opinion, is not an encouraging state of 
things. The assertion of the Government that 
no reports of what is going on in France have 
been received from Tours is discredited. They 
have got themselves in a mess by their former 
declarations that communications with the ex- 
terior were kept up ; for if they know nothing, 
it is asked what can these communications have 
been worth. Our last news from outside is de- 
rived from a Rouen newspaper of the 29th ult., 
which is published to-day. 

A few days ago it was announced that all 
pledges below the value of 20 fr. would be re- 
turned by the Mont-de-Piete without payment. 
Since then every one has been pledging articles 
for sums below this amount, as a second decree 
of the same nature is expected. It is not a bad 
plan to give relief in this manner to those in 
want. As yet, however, there is no absolute 
want, and as long as the provisions last I do not 
think that there will be. As long as flour and 
meat last, eveiy one with more or less trouble 
will get his share. As the amount of both 
these articles is, however, finite, one of these 
days we shall hear that they are exhausted. 
The proprietors have been deprived of their 
power to sue for rents, consequently a family 
requires but little ready money to rub on from 
hand to mouth. My landlord every week pre- 
sents me with my bill. The ceremony seems 
to please him, and does me no harm. I have 
pasted upon my mantel-piece the decree of the 
Government adjourning payment of rent, and 
the right ,to read and re-read this document is 
all that he will get from me until the end of 
the siege. Yesterday I ordered myself a warm 
suit of clothes ; I chose a tailor with a German 
name, and I feel convinced that he will not ven- 
ture to ask for payment under the present cir- 
cumstances, and if he does he will not get it. 
If my funds run out before the siege is over I 
shall have at least the pleasure to think that it 
has not been caused by improvidence. 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 7th. 



Some acquaintances of mine managed in the 
course of yesterday to get out to Villejuif without 
being arrested. I have not been so fortunate. 
I have charged the barrieres three times, and 
each time have had to retire discomfited. They 
describe the soldiers of the line in the front as 
utterly despising their allies the Mobiles. They 
camp out without tents, in order to be ready at 
any moment to resist an attack. 

October 1th. 

Paris would hardly be recognized under its 
present aspect by those citizens of the Far West 
who are in the habit of regarding it as a place 
where good Americans go when they die. In 
the garden of the Tuileries, where bonnes used 
to flirt with guardsmen, there is an artillery 
camp. The guns, the pickets of horses, the 
tents, the camp-fires, and the soldiers in their 
shirt-sleeves, have a picturesque effect under the 
great trees. On the Place de la Concorde from 
morning to evening there is a mob discussing 
things in general, and watching the regiments 
as they defile with their crowns before the statue 
of Strasburg. In the morning the guns of the 
forts can be heard heavily booming ; but the 
sound has now lost its novelty, and no one pays 
more attention to it than the miller to the wheel 
of his mill. In the Champs Elysees there are 
no private carriages, and few persons sitting on 
the chairs. The Palais de l'lndustrie is the 
central ambulance ; the Cirque de lTmpera- 
trice a barrack. All the cafe's chantants are 
closed. Some few youthful votaries of pleas- 
ure still patronize the merry-go-rounds ; but 
their business is not a lucrative one. Along 
the quays by the river-side there are cavalry 
and infantry regiments with the tentes d'abri. 
The Champ de Mars is a camp. In most of the 
squares there are sheep and oxen. On the out- 
er Boulevards lines of huts have been built for 
the Mobiles, and similar huts are being erected 
along the Rue des Remparts for the Nation aux 
on duty. Everywhere there are squads of Na- 
tionaux, some learning the goose-step, others 
practising skirmishing between the carts and fia- 
cres, others levelling their guns and snapping 
them off at imaginary Prussians. The omni- 
buses are crowded ; but I fear greatly that their 
horses will be far from tender when we eat them. 
The cabbies, once so haughty and insolent, are 
humble and conciliatory, for Brutus and Sca3- 
vola have taught them manners, and usually 
pay their fares in patriotic speeches. At the 
Arc de Triomphe, at the Trocadero, and at 
Passy, near the Point du Jour, there are always 
crowds trying to see the Prussians on the dis- 
tant hills, and in the Avenue de lTmperatrice 
(now the Avenue Uhrich), there are always nu- 
merous admirers of Mont Valerien gazing si- 
lently upon the object of their worship. In the 
Faubourg St. Antoine workmen are lounging 
about doing nothing, and watching others drill- 
ing. In the outer faubourgs much the same 
thing goes on, except where barricades are be- 
ing built. Round each of these there is always 
a crowd of men and women, apparently expect- 



ing the enemy to assault them every moment. 
At the different gates of the town there are 
companies of Mobiles and National Guards, 
who sternly repel every civilian who seeks to 
get through them. On an average of every ten 
minutes, no matter where one is, one meets ei- 
ther a battalion of Nationaux or Mobiles, march- 
ing somewhere. The asphalt of the boulevards, 
that sacred ground of dandies and smart dresses, 
is deserted during the daytime. In the evening 
for about two hours it is thronged by Nationaux 
with their wives ; Mobiles who ramble along, 
grinning vaguely, hand in hand, as though 
they were in their native villages ; and loafers. 
There, and in the principal streets, speculators 
have taken advantage of the rights of man to 
stop up the sidewalks with tables on which their 
wares are displayed. On some of them there are 
kepis, on others ointment for corns, on others 
statuettes of the two inseparables of Berlin, "Wil- 
liam and his little Bismarck, on others General 
Trochu and the members of the Government in 
gilt gingerbread. The street-hawkers are en- 
joying a perfect carnival — the last edition of 
the papers — the Tuileries papers — the cai'ica- 
tures of Badinguet — portraits of the heroic Uh- 
rich, and infallible cures for the small-pox or 
for worms, are offered for sale by stentorian 
lungs. Citizens, too, equally bankrupt alike in 
voice and in purse, place four lighted candles 
on the pavement, and from the midst of this 
circle of light dismally croak the "Marseil- 
laise" and other patriotic songs. As for beg- 
gars, their name is legion ; but as every one 
who wants food can get it at the public can- 
tines, their piteous whines are disregarded. 
Lodgings are to be hired in the best streets for 
about one-tenth part of what was asked for them 
two months ago, and even that need not be paid. 
Few shops are shut; but their proprietors sit 
hoping against hope for some customer to ap- 
pear. The grocers, the butchers, and the bakers, 
and the military tailors, still make money ; but 
they are denounced for doing so at the clubs as 
bad patriots. As for the hotels, almost all of 
them are closed. At the Grand Hotel there 
are not twenty persons. Business of every kind 
is at a stand-still. Those who have money live 
on it; those who have not live on the State: 
the former shrug their shoulders and say, "Pro- 
vided it does not last ;" the latter do not mind 
how long it lasts. All are comparatively happy 
in the thought that the eyes of Europe are on 
them, and that they have already thrown Leoni- 
das and his Spartans into the shade. 

The Government has placarded to-day a dis- 
patch from Tours. Two armies are already 
formed, we are told — one at Lyons, and the 

other at . The situation of Bazaine is 

excellent. The provinces are ready. The de- 
partments are organizing to the cry of " Guerre 
a outrance, ni un pouce de terrain, ni une pierre 
de nos forteresses !" I trust that the news is true ; 
but I have an ineradicable distrust of all French 
official utterances. A partial attempt is being 
made to relieve the population. At the Mairies 



Oct. 8th.] 



THE BESIEGED EESIDENT IN PARIS. 



33 



of the arrondissements, tickets are delivered to 
heads of families, giving them the right to a 
certain portion of meat per diem untilJanuary. 
The restaurants are still fairly supplied ; so that 
the system of rationing is not yet carried out in 
its integrity. 

I am not entirely without hopes that the trial 
through which France is passing will in the end 
benefit it. Although we still brag a good deal, 
there is within the last few days a slight diminu- 
tion of bluster. Cooped up here, week after week, 
the population must in the end realize the fact 
that the world can move on without them, and 
that twenty years of despotism has enervated 
them and made other nations their equals, if 
not their superiors. As Sydney Smith said of 
Macaulay, they have occasional flashes of silence. 
They sit, now and then, silent and gloomy, and 
mourn for the "Pauvre France." "Nous 
sommes bien tombes." This is a good sign, but 
will it outlive a single gleam of success ? Shall 
we not in that case have the Gallic cock crowing 
as lustily as ever? The French have many 
amiable and engaging qualities, and if adversity 
would only teach them wisdom, the country is 
rich enough to rise from the ruin which has over- 
taken it. M. Jules Simon has published a plan 
of education which he says in twenty years will 
produce a race of virile citizens ; but this is a 
little long to wait for a social regeneration. At 
present they are school-boys, accustomed to de- 
pend on their masters for every thing, and the 
defense of Paris is little more than the "barring 
out" of a girls' school. They can not, like 
Anglo-Saxons, organize themselves, and they 
have no man at their head of sufficient force of 
character to impose his will upon them. The 
existing Government has, it is true, to a certain 
extent produced administrative order, but they 
have not succeeded in inspiring confidence in 
themselves, or in raising the spirit of the Paris- 
ians to the level of the situation. The Ultras 
say justly, that this negative system can not last, 
and that prompt action is as much a political as 
it is a military necessity. 

The sixth livraison of the Tuileries papers 
has just appeared. Its contents are unimpor- 
tant. There is a receipt from Miss Howard, 
the Emperors former mistress, showing that be- 
tween 1850 and 1855 she received above five 
million francs. This sum was not, however, a 
sufficient remuneration, in her opinion, for her 
services, as in July, 1855, she writes for more, 
and says " the Emperor is too good to leave a 
woman whom he has tenderly loved in a false 
position." This and several other of her letters 
are addressed to the Emperor's Secretary, whose 
functions seem to have been of a peculiarly do- 
mestic character. Indeed, the person who ful- 
filled them would everywhere, except at a Court, 
have been called something less euphonious than 
"secretary." A long report from M. Duver- 
gier, ex-Secretary-General of the Police, is pub- 
lished respecting the Cabinet Noir. It is ad- 
dressed to the then Minister of the Interior. 
It is long, and very detailed. It appears that 
C 



occasionally the Emperor's own letters were 
opened. 

I went to the Hotel de Ville this afternoon, 
to see whether any thing was going on there. 
Several battalions passed by, but they did not 
demonstrate en passant. The place was full of 
groups of what in England would be called the 
" dangerous classes." They were patiently list- 
ening to various orators who were denouncing 
every thing in general, and the Government in 
particular. The principal question seemed to 
be the question of arms. Frenchmen are so 
accustomed to expect their Governments to do 
every thing for them, that they can not under- 
stand why, although there were but few Chasse- 
pots in the city, every citizen should not be given 
one. It is indeed necessary to live here and to 
mix with all classes to realize the fact that the 
Parisians have until now lived in an ideal world 
of their own creation. Their orators, their 
statesmen, and their journalists, have traded 
upon the traditions of the First Empire, and per- 
suaded them that they are a superior race, and 
that their superiority is universally recognized. 
Utterly ignorant of foreign languages and of 
foreign countries, they believe that their litera- 
ture is the only one in the world, and that a 
Frenchman abroad is regarded as little less than 
a divinity. They regard the Prussians round 
their city much as the citizens of Sparta would 
have regarded Helots, and they are so astonish- 
ed at their reverses, that they are utterly unable 
to realize what is going on. As for trying to 
make them comprehend that Paris ought to en- 
joy no immunity from attack which Berlin or 
London might not equally claim, it is labor lost.. 
"The neutrals," I heard a member of the late- 
Assembly shouting in a cafe', "are traitors to 
civilization in not coming to the aid of the 
Queen of Europe." They did their very best, 
they declare, to prevent Napoleon from making 
war. Yet one has only to talk with one of 
them for half an hour to find that he still hank- 
ers after the Ehine, and thinks that France 
wishes to be supreme in Europe*. 

October 8th. 

Yesterday I happened to be calling at the 
Embassy, when a young English gentleman 
made his appearance,, and quietly asked wheth- 
er he could take any letters to England. He is 
to start to-day in a balloon, and has paid 5000 fr. 
for his place. I gave him a letter, and a copy 
of one which I had confided on "Wednesday to 
an Irishman who is trying to get through the 
lines. I hear that to-morrow the Colombian 
Minister is going to the Prussian head-quarters, 
and a friend of mine assures me that he thinks 
if I give him a letter by one o'clock to-day this 
diplomatist will take it. The Corps Diploma- 
tique are excessively indignant with the reply 
they have received from Count Bismarck, de- 
clining to allow any but open dispatches through 
the Prussian lines. They have held an indig- 
nation-meeting. M, Kern, the Swiss Minister, 
has drawn up a protest, which has been signed 
by himself and all his colleagues. The Colom- 



34 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 8th. 



bian Minister is to be the bearer of it. It 
bombards Bismarck with copious extracts from 
Fuffendorf and Grotius, and cites a case in point 
from the siege of Vienna in the 15th century. 
It will be remembered that Messenger Johnson, 
at the risk of his life and at a very great ex- 
pense to the country, brought dispatches to the 
Parisian Embassy on the second day of the 
siege. I recommend Mr. Rylands, or some oth- 
er M.P. of independent character, to insist upon 
Parliament being informed what these impor- 
tant dispatches were. The revelation will be a 
curious one. 

Yesterday afternoon I made an excursion into 
the Bois de Boulogne under the convoy of a 
friend in power. We went out by the Porte 
de Neuilly. Any thing like the scene of arti- 
ficial desolation and ruin outside this gate it is 
impossible to imagine. The houses are blown 
up — in some places the bare walls are still stand- 
ing, in others even these have been thrown down. 
The Bois itself, from being the most beautiful 
park in the world, has become a jungle of un- 
derwood. In the roads there are large barri- 
cades formed of the trees which used to line 
them, which have been cut down. Between the 
ramparts and the lake the wood is swept clean 
away, and the stumps of the trees have been 
sharpened to a point. About 8000 soldiers are 
encamped in the open air on the race-course 
and in the Bois. Near Suresnes there is a re- 
doubt which throws shell and shot into St. 
Cloud. We are under the impression that the 
firing from this redoubt, from Vale'rien, Issy, 
and the gun-boat Farcy, which took place on 
Thursday morning, between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m., 
has destroyed the batteries and earth- works which 
the Prussians were erecting on the heights of 
St. Cloud and Meudon-Clamart. You, how- 
ever, are better informed respecting the damage 
which was done than we are. When I was in 
the Bois the redoubt was not firing, and the 
sailors who man it were lounging about, exact- 
ly as though they had been on board ship. Oc- 
casionally Mont Valerien fired a shot, but it was 
only a sort of visiting-card to the Prussians, for 
with the best glasses we could see nothing of 
them. Indeed, the way they keep under cover 
is something wonderful. "I have been for 
three weeks in a fort," said the aid-de-camp 
of one of the commanders of a southern fort ; 
"every day we have made reconnaissances, 
and I have not seen one single Prussian." 

From what I learn, on good authority, the 
political situation is this. The Government 
consists mainly of Orleanists. When they as- 
sumed the direction of public affairs, they 
hoped to interest either Austria or Russia in 
the cause of France. They were, therefore, 
very careful to avoid as much as possible any 
Republican propagandism either at home or 
abroad. Little by little they have discovered 
that if France is to be saved it must be by her- 
self. Some of them, however, still hanker af- 
ter a Russian intervention, and do not wish to 
weaken M. Thiers's prospects of success at St. 



Petersburg. They have, however, been obliged 
to yield to the Republicanism of the Parisian 
" men of action," and they have gradually 
drifted into a Government charged not only 
with the defense of the country, but also with 
the establishment of a Republic. As is usual 
in all councils, the extreme party has gained 
the ascendency. But the programme of the 
Ultras of the "ins" falls far short of that of 
the Ultras of the " outs." The latter are con- 
tinually referring to '93, and as the Committee 
of Public Safety then saved France, they are 
unable to understand why the same organiza- 
tion should not save it now. Their leaders de- 
mand a Commune, because they hope to be 
among its members. The masses support them, 
because they sincerely believe that in the elec- 
tion of a Commune Paris will find her safety. 
The Government is accused of a want of ener- 
gy. "Are we to remain cooped up here until 
we are starved out?" ask the Ultras. "As a 
military man, I decline to make a sortie," re- 
plies General Trochu. "We are not in '93. 
War is waged in a more scientific manner," 
whispers Ernest Picard. The plan of the Gov- 
ernment, if plan it has, appears to be to wear 
out the endurance of the besiegers by a de- 
fensive attitude, until either an army from the 
provinces cuts off their communications, or the 
public opinion of Europe forces them to raise 
the siege. The plan of the Ultras is to save 
Paris by Paris ; to make continual sorties, and 
every now and then one in such force that it 
will be a battle. I am inclined to think that 
theoretically the Government plan is the best ; 
but it ignores the material it has to do with, 
and it will find itself obliged either to adopt the 
policy of the Ultras, or to allow them to elect 
a "Commune," which would soon absorb all 
power. The position appears to me to be a 
false one, owing to the attempt to rule France 
from Paris through an occasional dispatch by 
balloon. What ought to have been done was 
to remove the seat of Government to another 
town before the siege commenced, and to have 
left either Trochu or some other military man 
here to defend Paris as Uhrich defended Stras- 
burg. But the Government consisted of the 
deputies of Paris ; and had they moved the 
seat of Government, they would have lost their 
locus standi. Every one here sees the absurdi- 
ty of Palikao's declaration, that Bazaine was 
commander-in-chief when he was invested in 
Metz, but no one seems to see the still greater 
absurdity of the supreme civil and military Gov- 
ernment of the whole country remaining in Paris 
whilst it is invested by the German armies. 
Yesterday, for instance, a decree was issued al- 
lowing the town of Roubaix to borrow, I forget 
how much. Can any thing be more absurd than 
for a provincial town to be forced to wait for such 
an authorization until it receives it from Paris? 
It is true that there is a delegation at Tours, 
but so long as it is nothing but a delegation it 
will be hindered in its operations by the dread 
of doing any thing which may conflict with the 



Oct. Stii.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



views of its superiors here. Paris at present is 
as great an incubus to France as the Emperor 
was. Yesterday M. Gambetta started in a bal- 
loon for Tours, and in the interests of France I 
shall be glad to see his colleagues one and all 
follow him. The day before a balloon had 
been prepared for him, but his nerves failed 
him at the last moment, and he deferred his de- 
parture for twenty-four hours. 

M. Rochefort was "interviewed" yesterday 
by a deputation of women, who asked to be em- 
ployed in the hospitals, instead of the men who 
are now there. He promised to take their re- 
quest into consideration. I was down yester- 
day at the head-quarters of the Ambulance In- 
ternationale, and I can not say that I think that 
the accusations of the Ultra press respecting the 
number of young Frenchmen there is borne out 
by facts. There have been, however, a vast 
number of petits creves and others who have 
shirked military service by forming themselves 
into amateur ambulances. The "sergents de 
ville" have received orders to arrest any one 
wearing the Red Cross who is unable to pro- 
duce his certificate as an infirmier. This has 
thrown the petits creves — the pets of priests and 
old ladies — those youths who are best described 
by the English expression, "nice young men for a 
small tea-party" — into consternation. I saw yes- 
terday one of these emasculated specimens of hu- 
manity, arrayed in a suit of velvet knickerbock- 
ers, with a red cross on his arm, borne off to 
prison, notwithstanding his whining protests. 

Another abuse which has been put an end to 
is that of ladies going about begging for money 
for the "wounded." They are no longer al- 
lowed to do so unless they have an authoriza- 
tion. I have a lively recollection of an old 
grand-aunt of mine, who used to dun every one 
she met for a shilling for the benefit of the souls 
of the natives of Southern Africa, and as I know 
that the shillings never went beyond minister- 
ing to the wants of this aged relative, warned by 
a precious experience, I have not allowed my- 
self to be caught by the "ladies." 

A singular remonstrance has been received 
at the British Embassy. In the Rue de Chail- 
lot resides a celebrated English courtesan, 
called Cora Pearl, and above her house floats 
the English flag. The inhabitants of the street 
request the "Ambassador of England, a coun- 
try the purity and the decency of whose man- 
ners is well known," to cause this bit of bunt- 
ing, which is a scandal in their eyes, to be 
hauled down. I left Mr. Wodehouse consult- 
ing the text writers upon international law, in 
order to discover a precedent for the case. 
Colonel Claremont is doing his best to look 
after the interests of his fellow-countrymen. I 
had a prejudice against this gentleman, because 
I was unable to believe that any one hailing 
from the Horse Guards could under any cir- 
cumstances make himself a useful member of 
society. I find, however, that he is a man of 
energy and good common sense, with very little 
of the pipe-clay about him. 



From Monday next a new system of the dis- 
, tribution of meat is to come into force. Be- 
tween 450 and 500 oxen and 3500 sheep are to 
j be daily slaughtered. This meat is to be di- 
vided into twenty lots, one for each arrondisse- 
ment, the size of each lot to be determined by 
the number of the inhabitants of the particular 
arrondissement. The lot will then be divided 
between the butchers in the arrondissement, at 
twenty centimes per kilogramme below the re- 
tail price. Each arrondissement may, how- 
ever, adopt a system of rations. I suspect 
most of the beef I have eaten of late is horse ; 
anyhow, it does not taste like ordinary beef. 
To obtain a joint at home is almost impossible. 
In the first place, it is difficult to purchase it; 
in the second place, if, when bought, it is spotted 
by patriots going through the street, it is seized 
upon on the ground that any one who can ob- 
tain a joint for love or money must be an aris- 
tocrat who is getting more than his share. I 
met a lady early this morning, who used to be 
most fashionable. She was walking along with 
a parcel under her shawl, and six dogs were fol- 
lowing her. She asked me to drive them away, 
but they declined to go. I could not under- 
stand their sudden affection for my fair friend, 
until she confided to me that she had two 
pounds of mutton in her parcel. A tariff for 
horse-flesh is published to-day ; it costs — the 
choice parts, whichever they may be — 1 fr. 40 c. 
the kilo. ; the rest, 80 c. the kilo. 

Figaro yesterday published a " correspond- 
ence from Orleans," The Official Gazette of 
this morning publishes an official note from the 
Prefect of Police stating that this correspond- 
ence is "a. lie, such as those which the Figaro 
invents every day." 

Afternoon. 

I have just returned from the Place de l'Ho- 
tel de Ville. When I got there at about two 
o'clock, six or seven thousand manifesters had 
already congregated there. They were all, as 
is the nature of Frenchmen in a crowd, shout- 
ing their political opinions into their neighbor's 
ears. Almost all of them were Nationaux from 
the Faubourgs, and although they were not 
armed, they wore a kepi, or some other dis- 
tinctive military badge. As well as I could 
judge, nine out of ten were working-men. 
Their object, as a sharp, wiry artisan bellowed 
into my ear, was to force the Government to 
consent to the election of a Commune, in order 
that the Chassepots may be more fairly distrib- 
uted between the bourgeois and the ouvriers, 
and that Paris shall no longer render itself 
ridiculous by waiting within its walls until its 
provisions are exhausted and it is forced to ca- 
pitulate. There appeared to be no disposition 
to pillage *, rightly or wrongly, these men con- 
sider that the Government is wanting in energy, 
and that it is the representative of the bour- 
geoisie and not of the entire population. Ev- 
ery now and then some one shouted out ' ' Vive 
la Commune!" and all waved their caps and 
took up the cry. After these somewhat mo- 



3G 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 9th. 



notonous proceedings had continued about half 
an hour, several bourgeois battalions of Nation- 
al Guards came along the quay, and drew up 
in line, four deep, before the Hotel de Ville. 
They were not molested except with words. 
The leading ranks of the manifesters endeav- 
ored by their eloquence to convince them that 
they ought not to prevent citizens peacefully 
expressing their opinions ; but the grocers 
stood stolidly to their arms, and vouchsafed no 
reply. 

At three o'clock General Trochu with his 
staff rode along inside the line, and then with- 
drew. General Tamisier then made a speech, 
which of course no one could hear. Shortly af- 
terwards there was a cry of " Voila Flourens — 
Voila nos amis," and an ouvrier battalion with 
its band playing the Marseillaise marched by. 
They did not halt, notwithstanding the entreat- 
ies of the manifesters, for they were bound, their 
officers explained, on a sacred mission, to de- 
posit a crown before the statue of Strasburg. 
When I left the Place the crowd was, I think, 
increasing, and as I drove along the Rue Rivoli 
I met several bourgeois battalions marching to- 
wards the Hotel de Ville. I presume, therefore, 
that General Trochu had thought it expedient 
to send reinforcements. " We will come back 
again with arms," was the general cry among 
the ouvriers, and unless things mend for the 
better I imagine that they will keep their word. 
The line of demarkation between the bourgeois 
and the ouvrier battalions is clearly marked, 
and they differ as much in their opinions as in 
their appearance. The sleek, well-fed shop- 
keeper of the Rue Vivienne, although patriotic, 
dreads disorder, and does not absolutely con- 
template with pleasure an encounter with the 
Prussians. The wild, impulsive working-man 
from Belleville or La Villette dreads neither 
Prussians without, nor anarchy within. If he 
could only find a leader he would blow up him- 
self and half Paris rather than submit to the 
humiliation of a capitulation. Any thing he 
thinks is better than this " masterly inactivity." 
Above the din of the crowd the cannon could be 
heard sullenly firing from the forts ; but even 
this warning of how near the foe is, seemed to 
convey no lesson to avoid civil strife. Unless 
General Trochu is a man of more energy than 
I take him to be, if ever the Prussians do get 
into the town they will find us in the condition 
of the Kilkenny cats. 

October 9t7i. 

The representative of the Republic of Colunv 
bia, to whom I had given my letter of yesterday, 
has returned it to me, as he was afraid to cross 
the lines with it. The Briton who has paid for 
a place in a balloon is still here, and he imag- 
ines that he will start to-morrow, so I shall give 
him my Columbian letter and this one. I un- 
derstand that any one who is ready to give as- 
surances that he will praise every thing and ev- 
ery one belonging to the Government, is afford- 
ed facilities for sending out letters by the Post- 
office balloons, but I am not prepared to give 



any other pledge except that I shall tell the 
truth without fear or favor. 

The Journal Officiel of this morning, and the 
Moderate papers, boast that the Ultra manifes- 
tation of yesterday was a complete failure. As 
usual, they cry before they are out of the wood. 
After I left the Place it appears that there was 
a counter manifestation of bourgeois National 
Guards, who arrived in military order with their 
arms. Jules Favre addressed them. Now, as 
far as I can make out, these battalions went to 
the Hotel de Ville on their own initiative. No 
one, however, seems to see any incongruity in 
the friends of the Government making an arm- 
ed demonstration as a protest against armed 
and unarmed demonstrations in general. The 
question of the municipal elections will lie dor- 
mant for a few days, but I see no evidence that 
those who were in favor of it have altered their 
minds. As far as yesterday's proceedings were 
concerned, they only go to prove the fact, which 
no one ever doubted, that the bourgeoisie and 
their adherents are ready to support the Gov- 
ernment, but they have also proved to my mind 
conclusively that the working-men as a body 
have entirely lost all confidence in the men at 
the head of affairs. 

On the pure merits of the question, I think 
that the working-men have reason on their side. 
They know clearly what they want — to make 
sorties and to endeavor to destroy the enemy's 
works ; if this fails — to make provisions last as 
long as possible by a system of rationing — and 
then to destroy Paris rather than surrender it. 
The Government and their adherents are wait- 
ers on Providence, and except that they have 
some vague idea that the Army of the Loire 
will perform impossibilities, they are contented 
to live on from day to day, and to hope that 
something will happen to avert the inevitable 
catastrophe. I can understand a military dic- 
tatorship in a besieged capital, and I can under- 
stand a small elected council acting with revo- 
lutionary energy; but what I can not under- 
stand is a military governor who fears to en- 
force military discipline, and a dozen respect- 
able lawyers and orators, whose sole idea of 
Government is, as Blanqui truly says, to issue 
decrees and proclamations, and to make speech- 
es. The only practical man among them is M. 
Dorian, the Minister of Public Works. M. Do- 
rian is a hard-headed manufacturer, and, utterly 
ignoring red tape, clerks, and routine, he has set 
all the private ateliers to work to make can- 
non and muskets. I have not yet heard of his 
making a single speech, or issuing a single proc- 
lamation since the commencement of the siege, 
and he alone of his colleagues appears to me to 
be the right man in the right place. I do not 
take my views of the working-men from the 
nonsense which is printed about them in official 
and semi-official organs. They are the only 
class here which, to use an Americanism, is not 
"played out." The Government dreads them 
as much as the Empire did ; but although they 
are too much carried away by their enthusiasm 



Oct. 10th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PAEIS. 



37 



and their impulsiveness, they are the only per- 
sons in Paris who appear to have a grain of 
common sense. "As for the Army of the 
Loire," said one of them to me this morning, 
"no one, except a fool or a Government em- 
ploye', can believe that it will ever be able to 
raise the siege, and as for all these bourgeois, 
they consider that they are heroes because once 
or twice a week they pass the night at the 
ramparts ; they think first of their shops, then 
of their country." "But how can you imagine 
that you and your friends would be able to de- 
feat the Prussians, who are disciplined sol- 
diers?" I asked. "We can at least try," he 
replied. I ventured to point out to my friend 
that perhaps a little discipline in the ouvrier 
battalions might not be a bad thing ; but he in- 
sisted that the indiscipline was caused by their 
distrust of their rulers, and that they were 
ready to obey their officers. "Take," he said, 
11 Flourens' battalions. They do not, it is true, 
march as regularly as the bourgeois, and they 
have nothing but kepis and old muskets ; but, 
as far as fighting goes, they are worth all the 
bourgeois put together." I do not say that 
Trochu is not wise to depend upon the bour- 
geois ; all I say is, that as the Empire fell be- 
cause it did not venture to arm any except the 
regular soldiers, so will Paris render itself the 
laughing-stock of Europe, if its defense is to 
depend upon an apocryphal Army of the Loire, 
marines from the Navy, peasants from the prov- 
inces, and the National Guards of the wealthy 
quarters. To talk of the heroic attitude of 
Paris, when the Parisians have not been under 
fire, is simply absurd. As long as the outer 
forts hold out, it is no more dangerous to " man 
the ramparts " than to mount guard at the Tui- 
leries. I saw to-day a company of mounted 
National Guards exercising. Their uniforms 
were exquisitely clean, but I asked myself of 
what earthly use they were. Their command- 
er ordered them to charge, when every horse 
butted against the one next to him. I believe 
a heavy gale of wind would have disconnected 
all these warriors from their chargers. I fully 
recognize the fact that the leaders of the ou- 
vriers talk a great deal of nonsense, and that 
they are actuated as much by personal ambi- 
tion as by patriotism; but it is certain that the 
individual working-man is the only reality in 
this population of corrupt and emasculated 
humbugs ; every one else is a wind-bag and a 
sham. 

A decree has been issued, informing all who 
have no means of subsistence that they will re- 
ceive a certain amount of bread per diem upon 
application at their respective mairies. We 
are also told that if we wish to make puddings 
of the blood of oxen, we must mix pigs' blood 
with it, otherwise it will be unwholesome. 

It has been showery to-day, and I never have 
witnessed a more dismal Sunday in Paris. A 
pigeon from Gambetta's balloon has returned, 
but this foolish bird lost en route the message 
which was attached to its neck. 



CHAPTER VI. 

October 10th. 

It is very curious how close, under certain 
conditions of wind and temperature, the can- 
nonade appears to be, even in the centre of the 
town. This morning I was returning home at 
about two o'clock, when I heard a succession of 
detonations so distinctly, that I literally went 
into the next street, as I imagined that a house 
must be falling down there. It is said that the 
palace of St. Cloud has been destroyed. 

As well as I can learn, General Burnside 
came into Paris mainly to discuss with Mr. 
Washburne the possibility of the American 
families who are still here being allowed to 
pass the Prussian lines. He saw Jules Favre, 
but, if he attempted any species of negotiation, 
it could have led to nothing, as we are so abso- 
lutely confident that the Army of the Loire will 
in a few days cut off the Prussian supplies, and 
we are so proud of our attitude, that I really 
believe if Jules Favre were to consent to pay a 
war indemnity as a condition of peace, he and 
his friends would be driven from power the 
next day. 

Having nothing particularly to boast of to- 
day, the newspapers request the world to be 
good enough to turn its eyes upon Gambetta 
traversing space in a balloon. A nation whose 
Minister is capable of this heroic feat must 
eventually drive the enemy from its soil. The 
Figaro, in fact, hints that in all probability 
peace will be signed at Berlin at no very dis- 
tant date. The Gaulois, a comparatively sen- 
sible newspaper, thus deals with this aerial voy- 
age: — "As the balloon passed above the Prus- 
sian armies, amid the clouds and the birds, the 
old William probably turned to Bismarck and 
asked, 'What is that black point in the sky?' 
'It is a Minister,' replied Bismarck ; 'it is the 
heroic Gambetta, on his way to the Loire. In 
Paris he named prefects ; on the Loire he will 
assemble battalions.' Favorable winds wafted 
the balloon on her course; perhaps Gambetta 
landed at Cahors, his natal town, perhaps some- 
where else — perhaps in the arms of Cremieux, 
that aged lion. To-morrow the provinces will 
resound with his voice, which will mingle with 
the rattling of arms and the sound of drums. 
Like a trumpet, it will peal along the Loire, in- 
flaming hearts, forming battalions, and causing 
the manes of St. Just and Desmoulins to rise 
from their graves." 

Yesterday a battalion of the National Guard 
was drawn up before the Hotel de Ville, but 
there was no demonstration of the Ultras. M. 
Arago, the Mayor of Paris, made a few speeches 
from a window, which are described as inflam- 
ing the hearts of these heroic soldiers of the 
country. The rain, however, in the end, sent 
the heroic soldiers home, and obliged M. Arago 
to shut his window. A day never passes with- 
out one or more of our rulers putting his head 
out of some window or other, and what is called 
"delivering himself up to a fervid improvisa- 
tion." The Ultra newspapers are never tired 



38 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 11th. 



of abusing the priests, who are courageously 
and honestly performing their duty. Yester- 
day I read a letter from a patriot, in which he 
complains that this caste of crows are allowed 
upon the field of battle, and asks the Govern- 
ment to decree that the last moments of virtu- 
ous citizens, dying for their country, are not to 
be troubled by this new horror. To-day a citi- 
zen writes as follows: " Why are not the Na- 
tional Guards installed in the churches ? Not 
only might they find in these edifices, dedica- 
ted to an extinct superstition, shelter from the 
weather, but orators might from time to time 
from the pulpits deliver speeches. Those 
churches which are not required by the Na- 
tional Guard might serve as excellent stables 
for the oxen, the sheep, and the hogs, which 
are now parked out in the open air." 

Next to the priests and the churches, the 
streets named after members and friends of the 
late Imperial family excite the ire of patriots. 
The inhabitants of the quartier Prince Eugene 
have, I read to-day, decided that the Boulevard 
Prince Eugene shall henceforward be called the 
Boulevard Dussault, "the noble child of the 
Haute Vienne, who was murdered by the aids 
of the infamous Bonaparte." 

We are not, as you might perhaps suppose, 
wanting in news. The French journalists, 
even when communications with the rest of 
the world were open, preferred to evolve their 
facts from their moral consciousness : their 
hand has not lost its cunning. Peasants, who 
play the part here of the intelligent contraband 
of the American civil war, bring in daily the 
most wonderful stories of the misery which the 
Prussians are suffering, and the damage which 
our artillery is causing them — and these tales 
are duly published. Then, at least three times 
a week we kill a Prussian Prince, and "an 
army" relieves Bazaine. A few days ago a 
troop of 1500 oxen marched into our lines, 
"they were French oxen, and they were im- 
pelled by their patriotism." This beats the 
ducks who asked the old woman to come and 
kill them. 

The clubs appear to be divided upon the 
question of the "commune." In most of 
them, however, resolutions have been passed 
reaffirming their determination to hold the 
elections with or without the consent of the 
Government. Rochefort to-day publishes a 
sensible reply to Flourens, who called upon 
him to explain why he does not resign. "I 
have," he says, "descended into the most im- 
penetrable recesses of my conscience, and I have 
emerged with the conviction that my withdraw- 
al would cause a conflict, and this would open 
a breach to the Prussians. You will say that 
I am capitulating Avith my convictions ; if it 
be so, I do not necessarily capitulate with the 
Prussians. I silence my political instincts; 
let our brave friends in Belleville allow theirs 
to sleep for a time." I understand that in the 
council which was held to decide upon the ad- 
visability of adjourning these elections, Roche- ] 



fort, Simon, Ferry, and Arago voted against the 
adjournment, and Pelletan, Gamier Pages, Pi- 
card, and Favre in favor of it. Trochu then 
decided the question in the affirmative by a 
threat that, if the elections were allowed to 
take place, he would resign. 

October 11th. 
The notions of a Pall Mall dandy respecting 
Southwark or the Tower Hamlets are not more 
vague than those of the Parisian bourgeois or 
the Professional French journalist respecting 
the vast Faubourgs peopled by the working- 
men which encircle this city. From actual ob- 
servation they know nothing of them. They 
believe them to be the homes of a dangerous 
class — communistic and anarchical in its tend- 
encies, the sworn foes alike of law, order, and 
property. The following are the articles of 
faith of the journalist: — France is the world. 
Paris is France. The boulevards, the theatres, 
some fifty writers on the press, and the bour- 
geoisie of the fashionable quarters of the city 
are Paris. Within this narrow circle he may 
reason justly, but he never emerges from it, 
and consequently can not instruct others about 
what he does not know himself. Since the 
fall of the Emperor, the Parisian bourgeois has 
vaguely felt that he has been surrounded by 
two hostile armies — the Prussian without the 
walls, and the working-men within. He has 
placed his trust in Trochu, as twenty years ago 
he did in Cavaignac. The siege had not lasted 
a week before he became convinced that the 
Prussians were afraid of him, because they had 
not attacked the town ; and within the last few 
days he has acquired the conviction, upon equal- 
ly excellent grounds, that the working-men also 
tremble before his martial attitude. On Friday 
last he achieved what he considers a crowning 
triumph, and he is now under the impression 
that he has struck terror into the breasts of the 
advocates of the Commune by marching with 
his battalion to the Hotel de Ville. " We "— 
and by "we" he means General Trochu and 
himself — "we have shown them that we are 
not to be trifled with," is his boast from morn- 
ing to night. Now, if instead of reading news- 
papers which only reflect his own views, and 
passing his time, whether on the ramparts or in 
a cafe, surrounded by men who share his prej- 
udices, the worthy bourgeois would be good 
enough to accompany me to Belleville or La 
Villette, he would perhaps realize the fact that, 
as usual, he is making himself comfortable in a 
fool's paradise. He would have an opportuni- 
ty to learn that, while the working-men have 
not the remotest intention to pillage his shop, 
they are equally determined not to allow him 
and his friends to make Paris the laughing- 
stock of Europe. With them the " Commune " 
is but a means to an end. What they want is 
a Government which will carry out in sober 
earnest M; Jules Favre's rhetorical figure that 
" the Parisians will bury themselves beneath the 
ruins of their town rather than surrender." 
The lull in the "demonstrations" to urge the 



Oct. 11th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



Government either to carry out this programme, 
or to associate with themselves men of energy 
who are ready to do so, will not last long; and 
when next Belleville comes to the Hotel de 
Ville, it will not be unarmed. The bour- 
geois and the working-man worship different 
gods, and have hardly two ideas in common. 
The bourgeois believes in the Army of the Loire ; 
believes that in sacrificing the trade-profits of a 
few months, and in catching a cold by keeping 
guard occasionally for a night on the ramparts, 
he has done his duty towards his country, and 
deserves the admiration of all future ages. As 
for burying himself beneath the ruins of his 
shop, it is his shop as much as his country that 
he is defending. He is gradually wearying of 
the siege; the pleasure of strutting about in a 
uniform and marching behind a drum hardly 
compensates for the pecuniary losses which he 
is incurring. He feels that he is already a 
hero, and he longs to repose upon his laurels. 
When Bazaine has capitulated, and when the 
bubble of the Army of the Loire has burst, he 
will, if left to himself, declare and actually be- 
lieve that Paris has surpassed in heroism and 
endurance Troy and Saragossa ; and he will ac- 
cept what is inevitable — a capitulation. 

The working-man, on the other hand, believes 
in no Army of the Loire, troubles himself little 
about Bazaine, and has confidence in himself 
alone. Far from disliking the siege, he delights 
in it. He lives at free quarters, and he walks 
about with a gun, that occupation of all others 
which is most pleasing to him. He at least is 
no humbug ; he has no desire to avoid danger, 
but rather courts it. He longs to form one in a 
sortie, and he builds barricades, and looks for- 
ward with grim satisfaction to the moment when 
he will risk his own life in defending them, and 
blow up his landlord's house to arrest the ad- 
vance of the Prussians. What will be the up- 
shot of this radical divergence of opinion between 
the two principal classes which are cooped up 
together within the walls of Paris, it is impossi- 
ble to say. The working-men have, as yet, no 
leaders in whom they place confidence, and un- 
der whose guidance they would consent to act 
collectively. It may be that this will prevent 
them from giving effect to their views before the 
curtain drops ; they are strongly patriotic, and 
they are disinclined to compromise the success 
of the defense by internal quarrels. Very pos- 
sibly, therefore, they will be deceived by prom- 
ises on the part of the Government, and as- 
surances that Paris will fight it out to the last 
ditch, until the moment to act has passed. As 
for the bourgeois and the Government, their most 
powerful ally is the cry, "No division ; let us 
all be united." They are both, however, in a 
radically false position. They have called upon 
the world to witness how a great capital can die 
rather than surrender ; and yet, if no external 
agency prevents the surrender, they have no in- 
tention to fulfill their boast of dying. Any loop- 
hole for escape from the alternative in which 
they have thrust themselves they would welcome. 



"Our provisions will last three months," they 
say ; " during this time something must hap- 
pen to our advantage." "What?" I inquire. 
" The Army of the Loire will advance, or Ba- 
zaine will get out of Metz, or the Prussians will 
despair of success, or we shall be able to intro- 
duce convoys of provisions." "But if none of 
these prophecies are realized — what then?" I 
have asked a hundred times, without ever get- 
ting a clear answer to my question. By some 
strange process of reasoning in what, as Lord 
Westbury would say, they are pleased to call 
their minds, they appear to have arrived at the 
conviction that Paris never will be taken, be- 
cause they are unable to realize the possibility 
of an event which they seem to consider is con- 
trary to that law of nature which has made her 
the capital and the mistress of the world. A 
victorious army is at their gates ; they do not 
dare even to make a formidable sortie ; there is 
no regular army in the field outside ; their pro- 
visions have a limit; they can only communi- 
cate with the rest of the world by an occasional 
balloon ; and yet they regard the idea of a for- 
eign occupation of Paris much as we do a French 
invasion of England — a thing so improbable as 
to be barely possible. 

Yesterday there were a few groups on the 
Place de 1' Hotel de Ville, but they were rather cu- 
rious spectators than "manifesters." At about 
two o'clock the rappel was beaten in the Place 
Vendome, and several battalions of the National 
Guard of the quartier marched there and broke 
up these groups. M. Jules Ferry's head then 
appeared from the window, and he aired his el- 
oquence in a speech congratulating the friends 
of order on having rallied to the defense of the 
Government. It is a very strange thing that 
no Frenchman, when in power, can understand 
equal justice between his opponents and his sup- 
porters. The present Government is made up 
of men who clamored for a Municipal Council 
during the Empire, and whose first step upon 
taking possession of the Hotel de Ville was to 
decree the immediate election of a "Commune." 
Since then, yielding to the demands of their own 
supporters, they have withdrawn this decree, and 
now, if I go unarmed upon the Place de l'Hotel 
de Ville and cry " Vive la Commune," I am ar- 
rested ; whereas if any battalion of the National 
Guard chooses, without orders, to go there in 
arms and cry "a bas la Commune," immediate- 
ly it is congratulated for its patriotism by some 
member of the Government. 

Nothing new has passed at the front since 
yesterday. I learn from this morning's papers, 
however, that Moltke is dead, that the Crown 
Prince is dying of a fever, that Bismarck is anx- 
ious to negotiate, but is prevented by the obsti- 
nacy of the King, that 300 Prussians from the 
Polish provinces have come over to our side, and 
that the Bavarian and Wurtemberg troops are in 
a state of incipient rebellion. " From the fact 
that the Prussian outposts have withdrawn to a 
greater distance from the forts," the Electeur 
Libre tells me, "it is probable that the Prus- 



40 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 12th. 



sians despair of success, and in a few days will 
raise the siege." Most of the newspapers make 
merry over the faults in grammar in a letter 
which has been discovered and published from 
the Empress to the Emperor, although I doubt 
if there is one Frenchman in the world who could 
write Spanish as well as the Empress does 
Erench. 

Evening. 

It appears that yesterday the checks signed 
by M. Flourens were not recognized by the 
Etat Major of his "secteur." On this he de- 
clared that he would beat the "generale" in 
Belleville and march on the Hotel de Ville. 
The quarrel was, however, patched up — no dis- 
turbance occurred. For some reason or other 
M. Flourens, until he gave in his resignation, 
commanded five battalions of the National 
Guard; he has been told that he can be re- 
elected to the command of any one of them, 
but that he can not be allowed to be at the 
head of more than one. This man is an enthu- 
siast, and, I am told, not quite right in his 
head. In personal appearance he is a good- 
looking gentlemanly fellow. As long as Belle- 
ville acts under his leadership there is no great 
fear that any danger will arise, because his 
own men distrust, not his good faith, but his 
sense. 

Gambetta has sent a dispatch from Montdi- 
dier, by a pigeon. He says, ' ' Everywhere the 
people are rising; the Government of the Na- 
tional Defense is universally acclaimed." 

The Papal Nuncio is going to try to get 
through on Thursday. He says he is anxious 
about the Pope — no wonder. 

October 12th. 

" What is truth ?" said jesting Pilate, and 
would not wait for an answer; the Parisians 
of 1870 are as indifferent about truth as this 
unjust Roman judge was. It is strange that 
their own want of veracity does not lead them 
to doubt that of others ; they are alike credu- 
lous and mendacious. A man comes into a 
cafe, he relates every detail of an action in 
which he says he was engaged the day before ; 
the action has never taken place, but every one 
believes him ; one of the auditors then perhaps 
says that he has passed the night in a fort, and 
that its guns destroyed a battery which the ene- 
my was erecting; the fort has never fired a 
shot, but the first speaker goes off convinced 
that a battery has been dismounted. For my 
part I have given up placing the least faith in 
any thing I hear or read. As for the newspa- 
pers they give currency to the most incredible 
stories, and they affect not only to relate every 
shot that has been fired, but the precise damage 
which it has done to the enemy, and the num- 
ber of men which it has killed and wounded. 
They have already slain and taken prisoners a 
far greater number of Prussians than, on any 
fair calculation, there could have been in the 
besieging army at the commencement of the 
siege. Since the commencement of the war 
the Government, the journalists, the generals, 



and the gossips have been engaged apparently 
in a contest to test the limits of human credu- 
lity. Under the Republic the game is still 
merrily kept up, and although the German ar- 
mies are but a few miles off, we are daily treat- 
ed to as many falsehoods respecting what goes 
on at the front as when they were at Sedan, 
or huddled together in those apocryphal quar- 
ries of Jaucourt. "I saw it in a newspaper," 
or "I was told it by an eye-witness," is still 
considered conclusive evidence of the truth of 
no matter what fact. To-day, I nearly had a 
dispute with a stout party, who sat near me as 
I was breakfasting in a cafe, because I ventured, 
in the mildest and most hesitating manner, to 
question the fact that an army of 250,000 men 
was at Rouen, and would in the course of this 
week attack the Prussians at Versailles. "It 
is here, sir," he said, indignantly pointing to 
his newspaper; "a peasant worthy of belief 
has brought the news to the Editor ; are we to 
believe no one?" There were a dozen persons 
breakfasting at the same time, and I was the 
only one who did not implicitly believe in the 
existence of this arm}\ This diseased state of 
mind arises mainly, I presume, from excessive 
vanity. No Parisian is able to believe any 
thing which displeases him, and he is unable 
not to believe any thing which flatters his amour 
propre. He starts in life with a series of de- 
lusions, which all he has read and heard until 
now have confirmed. No journal dares to tell 
the truth, for if it did its circulation would fall 
to nothing. No Parisian, even if by an effort 
he could realize to himself the actual condition 
of his country, would dare to communicate his 
opinion to his neighbor, for he would be regard- 
ed as a traitor and a liar. The Bostonians be- 
lieve that Boston is the " hub of the universe," 
and the Parisian is under the impression that 
his city is a species of sacred Ark, which it is 
sacrilege to touch. To bombard London or 
Berlin would be an unfortunate necessity of 
war, but to fire a shot into Paris is desecration. 
For a French army to live at the expense of 
Germany is in the nature of things ; for a Ger- 
man army to live at the expense of Frenchmen 
is a barbarity which the civilized world ought 
to resent. If the result of the present cam- 
paign is to convince Frenchmen that, as a na- 
tion, they are neither better nor worse than oth- 
er nations, and to convince Parisians that Paris 
enjoys no special immunity from the hardships 
of war, and that if it sustains a siege it must 
accept the natural consequences, it will not 
have been waged in vain, but will materially 
conduce to the future peace of the world. As 
yet — I say it with regret — for I abominate war 
and Prussians, and there is much which I like 
in the French — this lesson has not been learnt. 
Day by day I am becoming more convinced 
that a lasting peace can only be signed in Par- 
is, and that the Parisians must be brought to 
understand by hard experience that, if victory 
means an accession of military glory, defeat 
means humiliation, and that the one is just as 



Oct. 12tii.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



41 



possible as the other. If the siege were raised 
to-morrow, the occupation of Alsace and Lor- 
raine by an enemy would be disbelieved within 
six months by this vain, frivolous populace ; 
and even if the German army does ever defile 
along the Boulevards, I shall not be surprised 
if we are told, as soon as they have withdrawn, 
that they never were here. Shut up in this 
town with its inhabitants, my sympathies are 
entirely on their side, but my reason tells me 
that Bismarck is right in insisting upon treat- 
ing in Paris. Let him, if he can, come in here ; 
let him impose upon France such a war indem- 
nity, that every man, woman, and child in the 
country will curse the folly of this war for the 
next fifty years ; and let him give up his scheme 
of annexation, and he will then have acted in 
the interests of Europe, and ultimately in those 
of France herself. 

Prussia, after the battle of Jena, was as low 
as France is now. Napoleon stripped her of 
her provinces, and she acceded to the treaty 
of her spoliation, but at the first favorable op- 
portunity she protested her signature, and the 
world has never blamed her for so doing. 
France, if she is deprived of Alsace, will do the 
same. If she signs the treaty, it will only be 
binding on her until she is strong enough to re- 
pudiate it. A treaty of territorial spoliation 
imposed by force never has and never will bind 
a nation. The peace of Europe will not be last- 
ing if France hawks about her alliance, and is 
ready to tender it to any Power who wishes to 
carry out some scheme of aggrandizement, and 
who will aid her to reconquer the provinces which 
she has lost. I have always regarded the Prus- 
sians as a disagreeable but a sensible nation, but 
if they insist upon the annexation of Alsace, and 
consider that the dismemberment of France will 
conduce to the unity of Germany, I shall cease to 
consider them as more sensible than the Gauls, 
with whom my lot is now cast. The Austrians 
used to say that their defensive system rendered 
it necessary that they should possess the Milan- 
ese and Venetia ; but the possession of these 
two Italian provinces was a continual source of 
weakness to them, and in the end dragged them 
into a disastrous war. The Prussians should 
meditate over this, and over the hundred other 
instances in history of territorial greed over- 
reaching itself, and they will then perhaps be 
more inclined to take a fair and impartial view T 
of the terms on which peace ought to be made. 
" Moderation in success is often more difficult 
to practise than fortitude in disaster," says the 
copy-book. My lecture upon European poli- 
tics is, I am afraid, somewhat lengthy, but it 
must be remembered that I am a prisoner, and 
that Silvio Pellico, under similar circumstances, 
wrote one of the most dreary books that it ever 
was my misfortune to read and to be required 
to admire. I return to the recital of what is 
passing in my prison-house. 

Last night and early this morning I had an 
opportunity to inspect the bars of the cage in 
which I am confined. I happened to say be- 



fore a superior officer that I was very desirous 
to see what was going on on the ramparts and 
in the forts at night, but that I had as yet been 
foiled in my endeavors to do so, when he told 
me that he would take me to both, provided in 
any account that I might give of them I would 
not mention localities, which might get him into 
trouble, or in general any thing which might af- 
ford aid and comfort to the enemy. Of course 
I accepted his offer, and at eleven o'clock p.m. 
we started on horseback. We soon struck the 
Rue des Remparts, and dismounted. Along the 
top of the ramparts there was a line of senti- 
nels. They were so numerous in some places 
that they almost touched each other. Every 
few minutes the cry, " Sentinelles, prenez garde 
a vous," went along. Behind them grandes 
gardes and other patrols were continually pass- 
ing, and we could hardly move a step without 
being obliged to give the pass-word, with a bay- 
onet in close proximity to our chests. The 
National Guards were sleeping, in some places 
in tents, in others in huts, and I found many 
more in the neighboring houses. Here and 
there there was a canteen, where warm coffee 
and other such refreshments were sold, and in 
some places casemates were already built. In 
the bastions there were camps of Artillerymen, 
Mobiles, and Nationaux. All was very quiet, 
and I was agreeably surprised to find with what 
order and method every thing was conducted. 
At about four o'clock this morning we passed 
through one of the gates: outside there were 
patrols coming and going, and I could see nu- 
merous regiments on each side of the road, 
some in tents, others sleeping in the open air, 
or trying to do so, for the nights are already 
very chilly. We were stopped almost every 
two minutes, and my friend had to explain who 
and what he was. At last we reached a fort. 
Here we had a long parley before we were ad- 
mitted. When we got in, the day was break- 
ing. We were taken into the room of the Com- 
mandant, with whom my friend had some busi- 
ness to transact. He was a sailor, and from his 
cool and calm demeanor, I am convinced that 
he will give a good account of himself if he is 
attacked. 

In the fort there were Mobiles and soldiers, 
and by the guns stood the sailors. I talked to 
several of them as they leant against their guns, 
or walked up and down as though they were 
keeping watch on deck. None of them had 
left the fort for the last three weeks, and they 
seemed to have no particular desire to go " on 
shore," as they called Paris. Their fire, they 
said, had, they believed, done considerable dam- 
age to the works which the Prussians had tried 
to erect within their range. The Command- 
ant now came out with some of his officers, and 
we tried to search with telescopes the distant 
woods which were supposed to conceal the ene- 
my. I confess that I saw absolutely nothing 
except trees and some houses which were in 
ruins. "Throw a shell into those houses," 
cried the Commandant, and off went one of the 



42 



THE BESIEGED KESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 12th. 



great guns. It fell wide. "Try again," he 
said. This time we could see through the 
glasses that the house had been hit, for a por- 
tion of one of the walls toppled over, and a col- 
umn of dust arose. No Prussians, however, 
emerged. A few shots were then fired promis- 
cuously into the woods, in order to sound the 
lines ; and then Commandant, officers, friend 
and I, withdrew to breakfast. I was, of course, 
cautious in my conversation, and all that was 
said I do not care to repeat — the general feel- 
ing, however, seemed to be that the prospects 
of Paris defending itself successfully were con- 
siderably weakened by the "lot of lawyers," 
who interfered with matters about which they 
knew nothing. The National Guards, who I 
hear are to occupy the forts, were laughed at 
by these warriors ; as for the Mobiles, it was 
thought that in two months they might become 
good soldiers, but that their discipline was most 
defective. " When we get them in here," said 
a gruff old Captain, "we do not stand their 
nonsense ; but outside, when they are alone 
with their officers, they do very much what 
they please." The soldiers of the regular 
army, I was told, had recovered their morale, 
and, if well led, might be depended upon. 

As was natural, the sailors were greatly ex- 
tolled, and I think they deserved it ; the best 
came from Brittany ; and, like Joe Bagstock, 
they are tough, sir, very tough — what are call- 
ed in French, " wolves of the sea." Breakfast 
over, we returned to Paris in company with two 
or three officers, who had been given "leave of 
absence for the day. This afternoon, hearing 
that egress was allowed at the Barriere de 
Neuilly, I started out in a fiacre, to see what 
was to be seen in that direction. Along the 
Avenue de Neuilly there were encampments of 
soldiers of the line and Mobiles. At the bridge 
of Neuilly my fiacre was stopped, but having 
explained to the commander of the picket that 
I wanted to take a walk, and shown my papers, 
for some reason best known to himself, he al- 
lowed me to go forward on foot. In Courbe- 
voie all the houses were shut up, except those 
occupied by troops, and the windows of these 
were filled with sand-bags. Bight and left trees 
were being cut down, and every moment some 
old poplar was brought to the ground. I pass- 
ed through Courbevoie, as no one seemed to 
notice me, and held on to the right until I 
struck Asnieres. It is a species of French 
Greenwich, full of hotels, tea-gardens, and res- 
taurants. The last time I had been there was 
on a Sunday, when it was crowded with Paris- 
ian bourgeois, and they were eating, drinking, 
dancing, and making merry. The houses had 
not been destroyed, but there was not a living 
soul in the place. On the promenade by the 
river, the leaves were falling from the trees, 
under which were the benches as of old. The 
gay signs still hung above the restaurants, and 
here and there was an advertisement informing 
the world that M. Pitou offered his hosts beer 
at so much the glass, or that the more ambi- 



tious Monsieur Some One Else was prepared to 
serve an excellent dinner of eels for 2 fr., but I 
might as well have expected to get beer or eels 
in Palmyra as in this village where a few short 
weeks ago fish, flesh, and fowl, wine and beer 
were as plentiful as at Greenwich and Rich- 
mond during the season. Goldsmith's "De- 
serted Village," I said to myself, and I should 
have repeated some lines from this admirable 
poem had I remembered any ; as I did not, I 
walked on in the direction of Colombes, vague- 
ly ruminating upon Pompeii, Palmyra, fish-din- 
ners at Greenwich, and the mutability of human 
things. 

I had hardly left Asnieres, however, and was 
plodding along a path when I was recalled to 
the realities of life by half a dozen Mobiles 
| springing up from behind a low wall, and call- 
j ing upon me to stop, while they enforced their 
; order by pointing their muskets at my head. I 
| stood still, and they surrounded me. I explain- 
ed that I was an Englishman inhabiting Paris, 
j and that I had come out to take a walk. My 
papers were brought out and narrowly inspect- 
ed. My passport, that charter of the Civis Ro- 
manus, was put aside as though it had been a 
document of no value. A letter from one of 
the authorities, which was a species of unofficial 
laissez passer, was read, and then a sort of 
council of war was held about what ought to be 
done with me. They seemed to be innocent 
and well-meaning peasants ; they said that they 
had orders to let no one pass, and they were 
surprised that I had got so far without being 
stopped. I told them that they were quite right 
to obey their consiyne, and that I would go back 
the way I had come. One of them suggested 
that I might be a spy, but he accepted my as- 
surance that I was not. Another proposed to 
keep me as a captive until some officer passed ; 
but I told them that this was contrary to all 
law, human and divine, civil and military. 
"Well, gentlemen," I at last said, " I will now 
wish you good-day ; my mother will be anxious 
about me if I do not return, otherwise I should 
| have been happy to remain in such good socie- 
jty;" and with this speech I turned back and 
went towards Asnieres ; they did not follow me, 
but remained with their mouths open, utterly 
unable to grasp the idea why an Englishman 
should be taking a walk in the neighborhood of 
Paris, and why he should have an aged mother 
anxiously awaiting his return in the city. N.B. 
— If you want to inspire a Frenchman with a 
: sort of sentimental respect, always talk of your 
mother ; the same effect is produced on a Ger- 
' man by an allusion to your bride. At the bridge 
of Neuilly the guard had been changed, and I 
! had a lengthy discussion whether I ought to 
| be imprisoned or allowed to pass. I was in- 
clined to think that I owe the latter motion be- 
ing carried, to a very eloquent speech which I 
! threw off, but this may perhaps be vanity on my 
! part, as Mont Valerien was also discoursing at 
the same time, and dividing with me the attcn- 
1 tion of my auditors. 



Oct. 13tii.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



43 



M. de Keratry has resigned his post of Pre- 
fect of the Police, and has been succeeded by 
M. Edtnond Adam, who is said to be a man of 
energy. Yesterday M. Jules Ferry went down 
to Belleville, and delivered several speeches, 
which he informs us to-day in a letter were 
greatly applauded. The Official Gazette con- 
tains an intimation that M. Flourens is to be 
prosecuted, but I greatly question whether it is 
more than brutum fulmen. The Council of 
War has condemned five of the soldiers who 
ran away at the fight of Chatillon. Several 
others who were tried for the same offense have 
been acquitted. It is reported that an engage- 
ment took place this afternoon at Villejuif, but 
no details are yet known. There is no doubt 
that the Prussians have enlarged their circle 
round Paris, and that they have massed troops 
near Choisy-le-Roi. What these two manoeu- 
vres portend, we are all anxiously discussing. 

Several balloons went off this morning. I 
have deluged the Post-office with letters, but I 
doubt if they ever get any farther. Mr. Hoar, 
the naval attache of the British Embassy, also 
left this morning for Tours. As the Parisian 
fleet consists of one gun-boat, I presume that 
he considers that his valuable services may be 
utilized elsewhere. 

October 13th. 

Frenchmen have none of that rough-and-tum- 
ble energy which enables Anglo-Saxons to shake 
themselves, no matter under what circumstan- 
ces, into some sort of shape. Left to them- 
selves they are as helpless as children ; it takes 
a certain time to organize them, and to evolve 
order from chaos, but when once the process is 
effected, they surpass us in administrative mech- 
anism, and in readiness to fall into new ways. 
The organization of Paris, as a besieged city, is 
now in good working trim, and it must be ad- 
mitted that its results are more satisfactory than 
a few weeks ago could have been anticipated. 
Except when some important event is taking 
place at the front, there are no crowds in the 
streets, and even the groups which used to im- 
pede circulation are now rare. The National 
Guards go in turn to the ramparts, like clerks 
to their office. In the morning the battalions 
are changed, and those who come off duty march 
to their respective "quartiers" and quietly dis- 
band. Unless there is some extraordinary move- 
ment, during the rest of the day and night there 
is little marching of troops. In the evening the 
Boulevards are moderately full from eight to ten 
o'clock ; but now that only half the number of 
street lamps are lit — they look gloomy even then 
— at half-past ten every cq/eand shop is closed, 
and half an hour later every one has gone home. 
There are no quarrels and no drunkards. Rob- 
beries occasionally occur, but they are rare. 
"Social evils" have again made their appear- 
ance, but they are not so insolently conspicuous 
as they were under the paternal rule of the Em- 
pire. Paris, once so gay, has become as dull as 
a small German capital. Its inhabitants are 
not in the depths of despair, but they are thor- 



oughly bored. They are in the position of a 
company of actors shut up in a theatre night 
and day, and left to their own devices, with- 
out an audience to applaud or to hiss them. 
"What do you think they are saving of us in 
England?" is a question which I am asked not 
less than a hundred times every day. My inter- 
rogator usually goes on to say, that it is impos- 
sible that the heroism of the population has not 
elicited the admiration of the world. It seems 
to me that if Paris submits to a blockade for 
another month, she will have done her duty by 
France ; but I can not for the life of me see 
that as yet she has done any thing to entitle 
her to boast of having set the world an example 
of valor. 

Yesterday, it appears by the official report, 
there was a reconnaissance in force under Gen- 
eral Ducrot in the direction of Bougival and 
Rueil. The Mobiles, we are told, behaved well, 
but the loss . on either side was insignificant. 
Our amateur strategists are divided as to the 
expediency of taking Versailles, with the whole 
Prussian quartier general, or reopening com- 
munications with the provinces by the way of 
Orleans. The relative advantage of these two 
schemes is hotly debated in the newspapers 
and the pot-houses. A more practical sugges- 
tion to form mobilized regiments 6*f National 
Guards by taking the most active men from the 
existing battalions is being seriously considered 
by the Government. This is all the news, ex- 
cept that a battalion of Amazons is in course of 
formation. They are to wear trowsers, kepis, 
and blouses, and' to be armed like the National 
Guard. The walls are covered with large plac- 
ards inviting enlistments. It is reported that 
the Government are in possession of evidence 
to show that many of those female ornaments 
of the Imperial Court who were called coco- 
dettes, and who spent in dress every year three 
times the annual income of their husbands, 
were in the pay of Bismarck. This intelligent 
and unscrupulous gentleman also, it is said, has 
a corps of spies recruited from all nations, con- 
sisting of good-looking men of pleasant address 
and of a certain social standing, whose business 
it was to insinuate themselves into the good 
graces of the beauties of Parisian society, and 
then endeavor to pick up the secrets of their 
husbands and friends. I am inclined to think 
that there is a good deal of truth in this lat- 
ter allegation, because for several years I have 
known fascinating foreigners who used to fre- 
quent the clubs, the Bois, and the salons of the 
great world, and lead a joyous life without hav- 
ing any recognized means of existence. I have 
been struck more than once with the anxiety of 
these gentry to hook themselves on to the train 
of any lady who was either the relative of a 
man in power or who was supposed to be on 
intimate terms with a minister or a courtier. 
Every man, said Sir Robert Walpole, has his 
price, and Bismarck might be justified in mak- 
ing the same reflection as far as regards what 
is called European good society. 



44 



THE BESIEGED EESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 13th. 



The eighth livraison of the Tuileries papers 
has appeared; it contains two letters from Gen- 
eral Ducrot to General Frossard, a dispatch 
from the French Foreign-office to Benedetti, a 
report on France by Magne, and a letter from 
a prefect to Pietri. From the few papers of any 
importance which have been discovered in the 
Imperial palaces, our friend Badinguet must 
have had an inkling when he last left Paris 
that he might not return, and must have put 
his papers in order, i. e., in the fire-place. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Evening. 

I am very much afraid that it will be some 
time before my letters reach you, if indeed they 
ever do. I had intrusted one to Lord Lyons's 
butler, a very intelligent man, who was to ac- 
company Mr. Hoar, our naval attache, to Tours ; 
but, alas, they did not get farther than the Prus- 
sian lines at Epinay, and they are back again at 
the Embassy. Mr. Hoar had with him a letter 
from the Nuncio to the Crown Prince, but the 
officer in command of the outpost declined to 
take charge of it. The Colombian Minister, 
too, who was charged with the protest of the 
Corps Diplomatique to Bismarck on account of 
his refusal to allow their dispatches to go out, 
has also returned, to re-peruse Grotius and Puf- 
fendorf, in order to find more precedents with 
which to overwhelm Bismarck. The Greek 
Minister has managed to run the blockade. A 
son of Commodore Lynch made an attempt 
to get out, but after being kept twelve hours 
at the Prussian outposts, and fired on by the 
French, he has returned to share our imprison- 
ment. This morning I read in one of the pa- 
pers a wonderful account of what Mr. Lynch 
had seen when with the Prussians. Meeting 
him this evening, I asked him whether it was 
true. He told me that he had already been to 
the newspaper to protest against its appearance, 
as every statement in it was destitute of founda- 
tion. He could, however, get no redress ; the 
editor or his locum tenens told him that one of 
their reporters had given it him, and that he 
knew nothing more about it. This is an in- 
stance of the reckless mode in which the busi- 
ness of journalism is conducted here. 

I made two visits this afternoon, one to a pot- 
house in Belleville, the other to a countess in 
the Faubourg St. Germain. I went to the for- 
mer in order to find out what the Bellevillites 
thought of things in general. I found them 
very discontented with the Government, and 
divided in opinion as to whether it would be 
more in the interests of the country to turn it 
out at present, or to wait until the Prussians 
were defeated, and then do so. They are all 
very angry at the counter-manifestation of 
the bourgeois against them in the Commune. 
"The Government," said one of them to me, 
"is weak and incapable; it means to deceive 
us, and is thinking more of bringing back the 



Comte de Paris than of defending the town. 
We do not wish it to be said that we compro- 
mise the success of the defense by agitation, 
but either it must show more energy, or we will 
drive it from the Hotel de Ville." I quoted to 
my friend Mr. Lincoln's saying about the mis- 
take of changing a horse when half way over a 
river. "That is all very well," replied a citi- 
zen, who was discussing some fiery compound 
at a table near me, "but we, unfortunately, 
have only an ass to carry us over, and he will 
be swept away down the stream with us on his 
back." Somebody now asked me what I was 
doing in Paris. I replied that I was the cor- 
respondent of an English newspaper. Several 
immediately shook me by the hand, and one of 
them said to me, "Pray tell your countrymen 
that we men of Belleville are not what the bour- 
geois and their organs pretend. We do not 
want to rob our neighbors; all we ask is, to 
keep the Prussians out of Paris." He said a 
good deal more which it is needless to repeat, 
but I willingly fulfill his request, to give my 
testimony , that he, and thousands like him, 
who are the bugbear of the inhabitants of the 
richer districts of the city, are not by any means 
as black as they are painted. They are impul- 
sive, and somewhat inclined to exaggerate their 
own good qualities and the -faults of others — 
they seem to think that any one who differs 
from them must be a knave or a fool, and that 
the form of government which they prefer ought 
at once to be established, whether it obtains the 
suffrages of the majority or not ; their knowl- 
edge, too, of the laws of political and social 
economy is, to say the least, vague ; but they 
are honest and sincere, mean what they say, 
do not mistake words for deeds, and after the 
dreary inflated nonsense one is compelled to 
listen to from their better educated townsmen, 
it is refreshing to talk with them. 

From the Belleville pot-house I went to the 
Faubourg St. Germain. In this solemn abode 
of a fossil aristocracy I have a relative — a count- 
ess. She is, I believe, my cousin about six- 
teen times removed, but as she is the only per- 
son of rank with whom my family can claim 
the most distant relationship, we stick to the 
cousinship and send her every year cheap pres- 
ents, which she reciprocates with still more 
meretricious bonbons. When I was ushered 
into her drawing-room, I found her taking af- 
ternoon tea with two old gentlemen, also a mild 
young man, and a priest. A "Lady of the 
Faubourg," who has any pretensions to beauty, 
but who is of Cornelia's mood, always has two 
or three old gentlemen, a mild young man, and 
a priest, who drop in to see her almost every 
afternoon. "Are you come to congratulate 
us ?" said my cousin, as I entered. I kissed 
her hand. " What," she continued, " have you 
not heard of the victory ?" I opened my eyes. 
" Madame," said one old gentleman, "alludes to 
the taking of Choisy-le-Roy." I mildly hinted 
that the news of this important event had not 
reached me. " Surprising !" said he ; "I saw 



Oct. 14th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



45 



Vinoy myself yesterday." "It does not fol- 
low," I suggested, "that he has taken Choisy 
to-day." ♦•Monsieur, perhaps, is not aware," 
jeered old gentleman No. 2, " that 60,000 men 
have broken through the Prussian lines, and 
have gone to the relief of Bazaine." " I have 
not the slightest doubt of the fact ; it is precise- 
ly what I expected would occur," I humbly ob- 
served. "As for the victory," struck in the 
mild young man, " I can vouch for it ; I my- 
self have seen the prisoners." " Surely," add- 
ed my cousin, "you must have heard the can- 
non ; ah ! you English are all the same ; you 
are all Prussians, your Queen, your 'Tims,' and 
all of you." I took refuge in a cup of tea. 
One old gentleman came and stood before me. 
I knew well what was coming — the old, old 
question. "Well, what does England think 
of our attitude now ?" I said that only one 
word could properly qualify it — sublime. "We 
are sacrificing our lives," said the mild young 
man. I looked at him, and I greatly fear that 
I smiled — "that is to say," he continued, "we 
are prepared to sacrifice them." "Monsieuris 
in the Garde Nationale?" I asked. " Monsieur 
is the only son of a widow," put in my cousin. 
" But I mean to go to the ramparts, for all that," 
added the orphan. " You owe yourself to your 
mother," said the priest — "and to your coun- 
try," I suggested, but the observation fell very 
flat. "It is a grand sight," observed one old 
gentleman, as he put a third lump of sugar in 
his tea, and another into his pocket, "a glori- 
ous spectacle, to see a population that was sup- 
posed to be given up to luxury, subsisting cheer- 
fully week after week upon the simplest neces- 
saries of existence." " I have not tasted game 
once this year, and the beef is far from good," 
sighed old gentleman No. 2 ; " but we will con- 
tinue to endure our hardships for months, or for 
years if need be, rather than allow the Prussians 
to enter Paris." This sort of Lacedemonian 
twaddle went on during the whole time of my 
visit, and my cousin evidently was proud of be- 
ing surrounded by such Spartans. I give a 
specimen of it, as I think these worthies ought 
to be gratified by their heroic sacrifices being 
made public. "I'd rough it in a campaign as 
well as any linesman," said the cornet of her 
Majesty's Life Guards; "give me a pint of 
claret and a chicken every day, or a cut at a 
joint, and I would ask for nothing more ;" and 
the Balgravian knight's idea of the discomforts 
of war is very like that of the beleaguered Gaul. 
Want may come, but as yet never has a large 
city enjoyed greater abundance of bread and 
meat. The poor are nourished by the State. 
The rich have, perhaps, some difficulty in get- 
ting their supply of meat, but this is the fault 
of a defective organization ; in reality they are 
only deprived of those luxuries the habitual use 
of which has impaired the digestions of half of 
them. It is surely possible to exist for a few 
weeks on beef, mutton, flour, preserved vegeta- 
bles, wine, milk, eggs, and every species of sauce 
that cook ever contrived. At about seven, pro- 



visions at the restaurants sometimes run short. 
I dined to-day at a bouillon at six o'clock for 
about half-a-crown. I had soup, salt cod, beef 
(tolerable, but perhaps a shade horsey), rabbit, 
French beans, apple-fritters, grapes, and coffee. 
This bill of fare is a very long way from starva- 
tion. 

October \Uh. 

According to the official account of yester- 
day's proceedings, General Trochu was anx- 
ious to discover whether the Prussians were in 
force upon the plateau of Chatillon, or had 
withdrawn from that position. The villages of 
Chatillon, Bagneux, and Clamart were conse- 
quently attacked, and after an artillery and 
musketry engagement, the Prussian reserves 
were brought up, thus proving that the report 
that they had withdrawn was unfounded. The 
retreat then commenced under the fire of the 
forts. About 100 prisoners were taken ; in the 
evening they were brought to the Place Ven- 
dome. The newspapers are one and all singing 
peans over the valor of the Mobiles — those of 
the Cote d'Or most distinguished themselves. 
Although the whole thing was little more than 
a reconnaissance, its effect has been electrical. 
The battalions of the National Guard sing the 
Marseillaise as of old, and every one is full of 
confidence. Some of the officers who were en- 
gaged tell me that the Mobiles really did show 
coolness under fire, and that they fought well 
with the bayonet in the village of Bagneux. 
Between carrying an advanced post and forcing 
the Prussian army to raise the siege, there is of 
course a slight difference, but I see no reason 
why these strong, healthy peasants should not 
become excellent troops. What they want are 
commanders who are old soldiers, and would 
force them to submit to regular discipline. The 
Official Gazette contains the following decree : 
"Every officer of the National Guard whose 
antecedents are of a nature to compromise the 
dignity of the epaulette, and the consideration 
of the corps in which he has been elected, can 
be revoked. The same punishment may be in- 
flicted upon those officers who render themselves 
guilty of continuous bad conduct, or of acts 
wanting in delicacy. The revocation will be 
pronounced by the Government upon a report 
of the Minister of War." If the Government 
has enough determination to carry out this 
decree, the National Guard will greatly profit 
by it. 

Yesterday evening at the Folies Bergeres a 
demonstration was made against the Princes of 
the Orleans family, who are said to be in com- 
mand of an army at Rouen. It was deter- 
mined to send a deputation to the Government 
on the subject. This move is important, as the 
Folies Bergeres is rather the rendezvous of the 
Moderate Republicans than of the Ultras. 

A letter from Havre, dated October 4, has 
been received, in which it is stated that the ex- 
Emperor has issued an address to the nation. 
I do not know what his chances of restoration 
are in the provinces, but here they are absolute- 



4G 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 15th. 



ly hopeless. The Napoleonic legend was found- 
ed upon victories. Since the name of Napo- 
leon has been coupled with the capitulation of 
Sedan, it is loathed as much as it once was 
adulated. Apart from his personal following, 
Napoleon III. has not 100 adherents in Paris. 

October 15tk. 

Colonel Loyd Lindsay arrived here yester- 
day morning with £20,000 for the ambulances, 
and leaves to-morrow with the Corate de Fla- 
vign} r , the President of the Ambulance Interna- 
tionale. Mr. Herbert is getting anxious re- 
specting the future of the destitute English still 
here ; but with all due respect to our charitable 
friends at home, it appears to me that Paris is 
rich enough to look after its own wounded. 
The flag of the Cross of Geneva waves over sev- 
eral thousand houses, and such is the desire of 
brave patriots to become members of an ambu- 
lance corps, that the services of neutrals are de- 
clined. 

October 16tk. 

We are told that the ex-Emperor has issued a 
proclamation, urbi orbique, and that his agents 
are engaged in London and elsewhere in intrigu- 
ing in his behalf. I can not believe that they 
have any chance of gaining adherents to their 
master's cause in England. That halo of suc- 
cess which blinded a portion of the English press 
to the iniquities which were concealed beneath 
the Imperial purple has now disappeared. The 
publication of the papers discovered in the Tuil- 
eries has stripped despotism of its tinsel, and 
has revealed the vile and contemptible arts by 
which a gallant nation has been enslaved. The 
Government of Napoleon, as Mr. Gladstone said 
of that of Bomba, "was a negation of God upon 
earth." His councillors were bold bad men, 
ever plotting against each other, and united 
alone in a common conspiracy to grow rich at 
the expense of their country, creverunt in exitio 
patriae. His court was the El Dorado of pimps 
and parasites, panders and wantons. For eight- 
een long years he retained the power, which lie 
had acquired by perjury and violence, by pan- 
dering to the baser passions of his subjects, and 
by an organized system of fraud, mendacity, and 
espionage. Beneath his blighting rule French 
women only sought to surpass each other in reck- 
less extravagance, and Frenchmen lost the cour- 
age which had half redeemed their frivolity. 
Honest citizens there were, indeed, who protest- 
ed against these Saturnalia of successful villainy 
and rampant vice, but few listened to their warn- 
ings. They were jeered at by the vulgar, fined, 
imprisoned, or banished by Ministers and Mag- 
istrates. All that was good, noble, and gener- 
ous in the nation withered in the uncongenial 
atmosphere. The language of Pascal and of 
Corneille became the medium of corrupting the 
minds of millions. The events of the day were 
some actress who had discovered a new way to 
outrage decency, or some new play which dei- 
fied a prostitute or an adulteress. Paris be- 
came the world's fair, to which flocked the vain, 
the idle, and the debauched from all corners of 



the globe. For a man to be rich, or for a wom- 
an to find favor in the eyes of some Imperial 
functionary, were ready passports to social rec- 
ognition. The landmarks between virtue and 
vice were obliterated. The Court lady smiled 
in half-recognition on the courtesan, and paid 
her homage by endeavoring to imitate her dress 
and her manners. Card-sharpers and stock-job- 
bers, disreputable adventurers and public func- 
tionaries, were intimate friends. No one able 
to insult modest industry by lavish ostentation 
was asked how he had acquired his wealth. 
Honor and honesty were prejudices of the past. 
What has been the consequence? It is a com- 
ment upon despotism, which I hope will not be 
lost upon those who extol the advantages of per- 
sonal government, and who would sacrifice the 
liberty of all to the concentrated energy of one. 
The armies of France have been scattered to the 
winds ; the Emperor, who knew not even how a 
Caesar should die, is a prisoner; his creatures 
are enjoying their booty in ignoble case, not 
daring even to fight for the country which they 
have betrayed. The gay crowd has taken to it- 
self wings ; an emasculated bourgeoisie, grown 
rich upon fashionable follies, and a mob of work- 
ing-men, unused to arms, and distrustful even 
of their own leaders, are cowering beneath the 
ramparts of Paris, opposing frantic boasts, piti- 
ful lamentations, unskilled valor, to the stern 
discipline of the legions of Germany, whose iron 
grasp is contracting closer and closer every day 
round the vaunted capital of modern civiliza- 
tion. You know better than we do what is pass- 
ing in the provinces, but I can answer for it that 
the Parisians, low as they have fallen, are not 
so lost to every impulse of honor as to be ready 
to welcome back in triumph the prime cause 
of their degradation, the man of December and 
of Sedan. Titania, in the Midsummer Night's 
Dream, idealizes the weaver, and invests him 
with every noble attribute, and then, as soon as 
she regains her senses, turns from him with dis- 
gust, and exclaims, ''Oh, how mine eyes do 
loathe thee now !" So it was and so it is with 
Paris and Napoleon, " None so poor to do him 
honor now." 

The Government is daily becoming more and 
more military, and the Parisian Deputies are 
becoming little more than lay-figures. M. Gam- 
betta, the most energetic of them, has left for 
the provinces. MM. Jules Favre, Picard, and 
Pelletan are almost forgotten. Rochefort de- 
votes himself to the barricades, and M. Dorian, 
a hard-headed manufacturer, is occupying him- 
self in stimulating the manufacture of cannon, 
muskets, and munitions of war. These gentle- 
men, with the exception of the latter, are rath- 
er men of words than of action. They do nei- 
ther harm nor good. Of General Trochu, into 
whose hands, by the mere force of circumstan- 
ces, all civil and military authority is concentra- 
ting, Bonum virum, facile dixeris, magnum liben- 
ter. He is, I believe, a good general and a good 
administrator. Although he awakens no en- 
thusiasm, confidence is felt by the majority in 



Oct. IGtii.] 

his good sense. It is thought, however, that he 
is wanting in that energy and audacity which 
are requisite in a leader, if victory is to be wrest- 
ed from the Germans. He forgets that time is 
not his ally, and that merely to hold Paris until 
that surely inevitable hour arrives when the pro- 
visions are exhausted will neither save France 
nor her capital. He is a man slow to form a 
plan, but obstinate in his adherence to it ; un- 
willing to move until he has his forces perfect- 
ly under control, and until every administrative 
detail is perfected — better fitted to defend Troy 
for ten years than Paris for a few months — in 
fact, a species of French M'Clellan. 

We are now in a position, according to our 
military authorities, to hold out as long as our 
provisions last. If Paris does this, without be- 
ing so heroic as her citizens imagine that she al- 
ready is, she will have done her duty by France. 
Nicholas said, when Sebastopol was besieged, 
that winter was his best ally ; and winter will 
soon come to our aid. The Prussians are a 
long way from their homes ; if the provinces 
rise it will be difficult for them to keep their 
lines of communication open, and to feed their 
troops. It may also be presumed that they will 
be harassed by the 300,000 armed men who are 
cooped up here, and who are acting on the inner 
circle. Cannon are being cast which, it is ex- 
pected, will render the sorties far more effective. 
On the other hand, the question has not yet 
been solved whether the Parisians will really 
support the hardships of a siege when they com- 
mence, and whether there will not be internal 
dissensions. At present the greatest confidence 
is felt in ultimate success. The Parisians can 
not realize to themselves the possibility of their 
city being taken ; they are still, in their own 
estimation, the representative men of " la grande 
nation," and they still cite the saying of Fred- 
erick the Great that, were he King of France, 
not a sword should be drawn without his per- 
mission, as though this were a dictum that a 
sage had uttered yesterday. They feed every 
day on the vaunts and falsehoods which their 
newspapers offer them, and they digest them 
without a qualm. While they expect the prov- 
inces to come to their aid', they are almost an- 
gry that they should venture to act independent- 
ly of their guidance. They are childishly anx- 
ious to send out commissaries to take the direc- 
tion of affairs in Normandy and Touraine, for 
the provincials are in their eyes slaves, born to 
serve and to obey the capital. Indeed, they 
have not yet got over their surprise that the 
world should continue to move, now that it is 
deprived of its pivot. All this folly may not 
prevent their fighting well. Fools and braggarts 
are often brave men. The Parisians have an 
indomitable pride; they have called upon the 
world to witness their achievements, and the 
thought of King William riding in triumph 
along the Boulevards is so bitter a one, that it 
may nerve them to the wildest desperation. If, 
however, Bazaine capitulates, and the armies of 



THE BESIEGED EESIDENT IN PARIS. 



47 



their own brains, it may be that they will bow to 
what they will call destiny. " Heaven has de- 
clared against us," is an expression that I al- 
ready hear frequently uttered. 

It is indeed impossible to predicate here, as 
it is in London, what may be the mood of this 
fickle and impulsive population a week hence. 
All I can positively say is, that at the present 
moment they are in "King Cambyses' vein." 
We ought not to judge a foreign nation by our 
own standard, but it is impossible not to re-echo 
Lord Bolingbroke's "poor humanity " a hundred 
times a day, when one reads the inflated bombast 
of the newspapers, and hears the nonsense that 
is talked by almost every one ; when one sees 
the Gaul marching off to the ramparts con- 
vinced, because he wears a kepi and a sword, 
that he is a very Achilles ; when regiments sol- 
emnly crown a statue with laurel crowns, and 
sign round robins to die for their country. All 
these antics ought not to make one forget that 
these men are fighting for the holiest of causes, 
the integrity of their country, and that the worst 
of Bepublics is better than the best of feudal 
monarchies ; but I confess I frequently despair 
of their ever attaining to the dignity of free 
men, until they have been further tried in the 
school of adversity. 

Yesterday M. Jules Favre, in reply to a dep- 
utation from the Club of the Folies Bergeres, 
stated that he was not aware that the Orleans 
Princes were in France. " If the army of suc- 
cor," he said, "comes to us, we will extend 
our hands to it ; but if it marches under the 
Orleans banner, the Government will not recog- 
nize that banner. As a man, I deplore the law 
which proscribes this family ; as a citizen and a 
politician, I maintain it. Even if these Princes 
were to abdicate their dynastic pretensions, the 
Government will remember Bonaparte, and how 
he destroyed the Republic in 1851, and energet- 
ically protest against their return." This reply 
when reported to the Club was greatly applaud- 
ed. Probably none of its members had ever 
heard the proverb that beggars ought not to be 
choosers. 

The event of the day has been the arrest of 
M. Portales, the editor of the Verite. This 
newspaper, after asserting that the Government 
has received news from the provinces, asks a 
series of questions. In the afternoon the editor 
was arrested, and this morning the Official Ga- 
zette thus replies to the queries : No news has 
been concealed. The last official dispatch re- 
ceived is one from Gambetta, announcing his 
safe arrival at Montdidier. The Government 
has received an old copy of the Standard, but 
this journal, "notoriously hostile to France," 
contained sensational intelligence, which ap- 
peared absolutely untrue. To-day it has re- 
ceived a journal of Rouen of the 12th, and it 
hastens to publish the news derived from this 
source. Bismarck never proposed an armistice 
through Burnside. The General only unofficial- 
ly informed Trochu that Bismarck's views were 



the Loire and of Lyons are only the figments of , not altered since he had met Favre at Ferrieres 



48 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 17th. 



when he stated that " if he considered an armis- 
tice realizable for the convocation of an Assem- 
bly, he would only grant it for forty-eight hours ; 
he would refuse to include Metz, or to permit 
provisions to enter Paris, and exclude from the 
Assembly our brave and unhappy compatriots 
of Alsace and Lorraine." The Official Gazette 
then gives extracts from the Rouen paper, which 
are very contradictory. Our newspapers, how- 
ever, in commenting on them, come to the con- 
clusion that there are two armies in the field well 
equipped, and that they have already achieved 
important successes. The situation also of 
Bazaine is proved to be excellent. Quern Deus, 
etc. 

Two of the mayors have ordered all crucifix- 
es to be removed from the ambulances in their 
arrondissements ; their conduct is almost uni- 
versally blamed. The enlistment of the Ama- 
zons, notwithstanding the efforts of the Govern- 
ment, still continues. The pretty women keep 
aloof from the movement ; the recruits who 
have already joined are so old and ugly that 
possibly they may act upon an enemy like the 
head of Medusa. 

October 17th. 

The newspapers to-day almost universally 
blame the arrest of M. Portales. This gentle- 
man, with M. E. Picard, started, just before the 
siege commenced, a paper called LElecteur Li- 
bre. It was thought that M. Picard's position 
as a member of the Government rendered it im- 
possible for him to remain the political director 
of a newspaper, so he withdrew, but appointed 
his brother as his successor. This did not please 
M. Portales, who with most of the staff left the 
Electeur Libre, and founded La Verity. It is, 
therefore, somewhat suspicious that this new pa- 
per should be the only one whose editor has been 
imprisoned for circulating "falsehoods." In 
the first place, almost every French newspaper 
of any circulation trades upon lies ; in the second 
place, it appears that in this particular case the 
Ve'rite only put in the sensational form of ques- 
tions a letter from the Times' s correspondent at 
Tours. This letter it publishes to-day, and ap- 
peals to the public to judge between M. Portales 
and. M. Picard. The fact is that this popula- 
tion can neither tell nor hear the truth. The 
English papers are one and all in bad odor be- 
cause they declined to believe in the Emperor's 
victories, and if a Daily News comes in here 
with an account of some new French reverse, I 
shall probably be imprisoned. Government and 
people have laid down this axiom, "bad news 
false news." General Trochu again appears in 
print in a long circular letter to the command- 
ants of the corps d'armee and the forts. He de- 
sires them each to send him in a list of forty 
men who have distinguished themselves, and 
their names, and no others will appear in the 
order of the day. "We have," says the Gen- 
eral, " to cause this grand thought, which mon- 
archies decline to recognize, but which the Re- 
public should hold sacred, to penetrate into the 
minds of our officers and soldiers — opinion alone 



can worthily recompense the sacrifice of a life ; 
remember that if you make a bad choice of the 
men you recommend, you will gravely compro- 
mise your responsibility towards me, and at the 
same time the great principle which I would 
have prevail." The General is a very copious 
writer, and it seems to me that he would do 
well to remember that if he can only drive 
away the Prussians, he will have time enough 
afterwards to introduce his "grand thoughts" 
into the army. Two things, says Thiers, im- 
pose upon Frenchmen — military glory and pro- 
found silence. Trochu has the first to win, and 
be apparently scorns the latter. He is a spe- 
cies of military doctrinaire, and he finds it diffi- 
cult to avoid lecturing soldiers or civilians at 
least once a day. I was looking at him the 
other day, and I never saw calm, serene self- 
complacency more clearly depicted upon the 
human countenance. Failure or success will 
find him the same — confident in himself, in his 
plans, and his grand thoughts. If he eventual- 
ly has to surrender, he will console himself by 
coupling with the announcement of his inten- 
tion many observations — very wise, very beau- 
tiful, very lengthy, and very stale. 

Mr. Herbert tells me that there are more Eng- 
lish here than he had imagined. He estimates 
their number at about 4000, about 800 of whom 
are destitute. The funds at his disposal for them 
would have already run short had not Mr. Wal- 
lace again largely contributed to them. They 
are fed with rice and Liebig, but the great dif- 
ficulty has been to find fat to add to this mess. 
The beasts that are killed are so lean that it is 
almost impossible to obtain it except at an ex- 
travagant price. Tallow candles have been se- 
riously suggested, but they too are scarce. The 
English, as foreigners, can not claim rations, 
and were it not) for the kindness of Mr. Herbert 
and Mr. Wallace, they would, I am afraid, real- 
ly starve. All their rich fellow-countrymen, 
with the exception of Mr. Wallace, have left 
Paris, and even if they were here they would 
not be able to do any thing unless they had 
money with them, as it is impossible to draw 
on London. Winter is coming on, and clothes 
and fuel as well as food will be wanted. I 
would suggest to the charitable in England to 
send contributions to Mr. Herbert. I can 
hardly suppose that Count Bismarck would de- 
cline to let the money pass through the Prus- 
sian lines. I hear that Mr. Washburne has ob- 
tained a half permission to send his country- 
men out of the town ; if so, I think it would be 
well if the poor English were also to leave ; but 
this, of course, will require money. 

The Nuncio has managed to get away ; he de- 
clined to take letters with him. E. Washburne, 
United States Minister, Lopez de Arosemana, 
Charge d' Affaires of Honduras, Duke Aquavi- 
va, Charge d' Affaires of Monaco, and the other 
members of the Corps Diplomatique still here, 
have signed and published a protest against the 
refusal of Count Bismarck to let their dispatch- 
es to their respective Governments leave Paris 



Oct. 19th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



49 



sealed. That Mr. Washburne should be indig- 
nant I can well understand ; but although I do 
not personally know either Lopez de Arosema- 
na, or Aquaviva, Charge d' Affaires of Monaco, I 
can understand Count Bismarck not being abso- 
lutely satisfied with the assurance of those potent 
seigniors that nothing except official dispatch- 
es should pass under their seal. That the Prince 
of Monaco should be debarred for a few months 
from receiving communications from his repre- 
sentative in Paris, may perhaps be unpleasant 
to him, but must be a matter of the most pro- 
found indifference to the rest of the world. 

It is somewhat amusing to observe how jus- 
tice is administered when any dispute arises in 
the streets. The sergents de ville immediately 
withdraw, in order not to prejudice the question 
by their presence. A sort of informal jury is 
impanelled, each disputant states his case, and 
the one who is thought by the tribunal to be in 
fault is either taken off to prison or cuffed on 
the spot. I have bought myself a sugar-loaf 
hat of the First Republic, and am consequently 
regarded with deference. To-day a man was 
bullying a child, and a crowd gathered round 
him ; I happened just then to come up : room 
was immediately made for me and my hat, and 
I was asked to give my opinion as to what 
ought to be done with the culprit. I suggested 
kicking, and as I walked away I saw him writh- 
ing under the boots of two sturdy executioners, 
amid the applause of the spectators. "The 
style is the man," said Buffon ; had he lived here 
now he would rather have said " the hat is the 
man." An English doctor who goes about in a 
regulation chimney-pot has already been arrest- 
ed twenty-seven times ; I, thanks to my revolu- 
tionary hat, have not been arrested once. I 
have only to glance from under its brim at any 
one for him to quail. 

October ISth. 

A decree has been issued ordering a compa- 
ny of 150 men to be mobilized in each battalion 
of the National Guard. Three of these compa- 
nies are together to form a mobilized battalion, 
and to elect their commander. The Journal 
Officiel contains two long reports upon the 
works of defense which have been executed 
since the commencement of the siege. They 
give the number of guns on each bastion, and 
the number of rounds to each gun, the number 
of cartridges, and the amount of powder in 
store. Unless these reports be patriotic fic- 
tions, it seems strange to publish them in the 
newspapers, as they must inevitably fall into 
the hands of the Prussians. Be this as it may, 
I do not feel at liberty to quote from them. 
General Ducrot publishes a letter protesting 
against a statement of the German journals 
that he escaped from Pont-a-Mousson when on 
parole. He asserts that his safe-conduct had 
been given up, and that he consequently was 
free to get away if he could. His evasion is 
very similar to that of P. Meagher from Aus- 
tralia. M. Jules Pavre publishes a circular to 
the Prench Diplomatic Agents abroad, in reply 
D 



to Count Bismarck's report of the meeting at 
Ferrieres. You will probably have received it 

; before you get this letter. It is more rhetorical 
than logical — goes over the old ground of the 

j war having been declared against Napoleon 
rather than against the French nation, and com- 

1 plains that " the European Cabinets, instead of 
inaugurating the doctrine of mediation, recom- 
mended by justice and their own interests, by 
their inertness authorize the continuation of a 
barbarous struggle, which is a disaster for all 
and an outrage on civilization." M. Jules Fa- 
vre can not emancipate himself from the popu- 
lar delusions of his country, that France can go 

j to war without, if vanquished, submitting to the 
consequences, and that Paris can take refuge 

j behind her ramparts without being treated as a 
fortified town ; at the same time he very right- 
ly protests against the Prussian theory of the 
right of conquest implying a moral right to an- 
nex provinces against the wishes of their inhab- 
itants. 

Few have been in Paris without having driven 
through the Avenue de lTmperatrice. What 
has been done there to render it impregnable 
to attack will consequently give an idea what 
has been done everywhere. At the Bois de 
Boulogne end of the avenue the gate has been 
closed up by a wall and a moat ; behind them 
there is a redoubt. Between this and the 
Arc de Triomphe there are three barricades 
made of masonry and earth, and three ditches. 
Along the grass on each side of the roadway 
the ground has been honey-combed, and in each 
hole there are pointed stakes. In every house 
Nationaux are billeted ; in two of them there 
are artillerymen. In the Avenue de Neuilly, 
and in many other parts of the town, the prep- 
arations against an assault are still more for- 
midable. Bagatelles, the villa of the late Lord 
Hertford, has been almost gutted by 2000 Mo- 
biles, who make it their head-quarters. We are 
exceedingly proud of having burnt down St. 
Cloud, and we say that if this does not con- 
vince the Prussians that we are in earnest, we 
will burn down Versailles. I wonder whether 
the proverb about cutting off one's nose to spite 
one's face has an equivalent in French. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

October 19th. 
A dispatch is published this morning from 
M. Gambetta, giving a very hopeful account of 
things in the provinces. As, however, this gen- 
tleman on his arrival at Tours issued a procla- 
mation in which he announced that there were 
' one-third more guns in Paris than it is even 
pretended by the Government that there are, I 
look with great suspicion upon his utterances. 
The latest declaration of the Government differs 
essentially from that which was made at the 
commencement of the siege. A friend of mine 
pointed out to one of its members this dis- 
crepancy, when he replied that the Government 



50 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 20th. 



had purposely understated their resources at 
first. This may be all very fair in war, but it 
prevents a reasonable person placing the slight- 
est confidence in any thing official. Dr. John- 
son did not believe in the earthquake at Lisbon 
for one year after the news reached London, 
and I shall not believe in the resources of the 
provinces until they prove their existence by 
raising the siege. I am very curious to dis- 
cover what is thought of Paris by the world. 
There is but one step from the sublime to the 
ridiculous. If really by holding out for several 
months the situation can be altered for the bet- 
ter, the Parisians are right to do so ; but if the 
Government is only humbugging them with 
false intelligence, if they are simply destroying 
their own villages in the neighborhood, and 
exhausting their resources within the town, 
while a Prussian army is living at the cost of 
their country, it seems to me that they are act- 
ing like silly school-boys rather than wise men, 
and that there really is something in the sneer 
of Bismarck that the Deputies of Paris are de- 
termined, coute qui coute, to preserve the power 
with which the hazards of a revolution invested 
them. 

The newspapers this morning are full of arti- 
cles lauding M. Jules Favre's circular, and re- 
viling the proposals of Bismarck. The follow- 
ing extract from the Liberie will serve as an ex- 
ample of their usual tone : — -"A word of grati- 
tude to the great citizen, to Jules Favre. Let 
• him know that his honest, eloquent, and brave 
words give us strength, dry our tears, and cure 
our wounds. Poor and dear Prance! Prov- 
inces crushed and towns blockaded, populations 
ruined, and thou, O Paris, once the city of the 
fairies, now become the city of the grave times 
of antiquity, raise thy head, be confident, be 
strong. It is thy heart that has spoken, it is 
thy soul unconquered, invincible, the soul of 
thy country that has appealed to the world and 
told it the truth." The Liberie, after this pre- 
liminary burst, goes on to say, that it knew be- 
fore that Bismarck was every thing that was 
bad, but that it has now discovered that, besides 
possessing every other vice, he is a liar, and if 
there is one thing that France and the Liberte 
can not endure, it is a man who does not tell 
the truth. If the Prussians are not driven out 
of France by words, it certainly will be a proof 
that mere words have very little effect in shap- 
ing the destinies of nations. 
, Each person now receives 100 grammes of 
meat per diem, the system of distribution being 
that every one has to wait on an average two 
hours before he receives his meat at the door of 
a butcher's shop. I dine habitually at a bouil- 
lon ; there horse-flesh is eaten in the place of 
beef, and cat is called rabbit. Both, however, 
are excellent, and the former is a little sweeter 
than beef, but in other respects much like it ; 
the latter something between rabbit and squir- 
rel, with a flavor all its own. It is delicious. 
I recommend those who have cats with philo- 
progenitive proclivities, instead of drowning the 



kittens, to eat them. Either smothered in on- 
ions or in a ragout they are excellent. When 
I return to London I shall frequently treat my- 
self to one of these domestic animals, and ever 
feel grateful to Bismarck for having taught me 
that cat served up for dinner is the right ani- 
mal in the right place. 

I went last night to the Theatre of the Porte 
St. Martin ; it has become the clique of the 
optimists, and speeches were delivered to prove 
that every thing was for the best in the best of 
worlds, and poetry was recited to prove that the 
Prussians must eventually be defeated. The 
chair was taken by M. Coquerel, who with great 
truth said that Paris had fallen so low that the 
siege might be considered almost a blessing, and 
that the longer it lasted, the more likely was it 
to aid in the work of regeneration, which alone 
can make this world a globe of honorable men 
and honest women. It will, indeed, do the Pa- 
risians all the good in the world to keep guard 
on the ramparts instead of doing nothing but 
gossip till one or two in the morning at cafes. 

General Trochu, that complete letter-writer, 
to-day replies to General Ducrot, telling him 
that his proclamation respecting his evasion 
from Pont-a-Mousson is most satisfactory. 

The military events of this week have been 
unimportant. The forts have continued silent, 
and reconnaissances have been made here and 
there. The faubourgs, too, have been quiet. 
Every thing is being done to make the siege 
weigh as little upon the population as possible. 
Thus, for instance, few lamps are lit in the 
streets, but the shops and cafes are still a blaze 
of light ; they close, however, early. Here is 
rather a good story ; I can vouch for its truth. 
The Government recently visited the Tuileries. 
They were received by the governor, whom they 
found established in a suite of apartments. He 
showed them over the palace, and then offered 
them luncheon. They then incidentally asked 
him who had nominated him to the post he so 
ably filled. "Myself," he replied; "just by the 
same authority as you nominated yourselves, and 
no less." There was heavy firing all through the 
night in the direction of Vannes. 

M. Mottu, the mayor of the 11th arrondisse- 
ment, who had entered into a campaign against 
crucifixes, has been removed. The Govern- 
ment were " interviewed " last night by the 
chiefs of thirty battalions of Gardes Nationals 
of the 11th arrondissement on the subject. The 
deputation was assured that M. Mottu would be 
reinstated in his mairie if he would promise to 
moderate his zeal. 

October 20th. 

"The clients of M. Poiret are informed that 
they can only have one plate of meat," was the 
terrible writing which stared me on the wall, 
when I went to dine at my favorite bouillon — 
and, good heavens, what a portion it was ! Not 
enough for the dinner of a fine lady who has 
previously gorged herself at a private luncheon. 
If meat is, as we are told, so plentiful that it 
will last for five weeks more, the mode in which 



Oct. 20th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



51 



it is distributed is radically bad. While at 
a large popular restaurant, where hundreds of 
the middle classes dine, each person only gets 
enough cat or horse to whet his appetite for 
more, in the expensive cafes on the Boule- 
vards, feasts worthy of Lucullus are still served 
to those who are ready to part with their mon- 
ey with the proverbial readiness of fools. Far 
more practical, my worthy Republicans, would 
it be to establish " liberte, e'galite, fraternite " 
in the cook-shops, than to write the words in 
letters of gold over your churches. In every 
great city there always is much want and mis- 
ery ; here, although succor is supposed to be af- 
forded to all who require it, many I fear are 
starving, owing to that bureaucrat love of classi- 
fication which is the curse of France. After my 
meagre dinner, I was strolling along the quays 
near the river, Vestomac as legersxs M. Ollivier's 
heart, when I saw a woman leaning over the 
parapet. She turned as I was passing her, and 
the lamp from the opposite gate of the Tuile- 
ries shone on her face. It was honest and home- 
ly, but so careworn, so utterly hopeless, that I 
stopped to ask her if she was ill. " Only tired 
and hungry," she replied ; "I have been walk- 
ing all day, and I have not eaten since yester- 
day." I took her to a cafe and gave her some 
bread and coffee, and then she told me her 
story. She was a peasant-girl from Franche 
Comte, and had come to Paris, where she had 
gone into service. But she had soon tired of 
domestic servitude, and for the last year she 
had supported herself by sewing waistcoats in a 
great wholesale establishment. At the com- 
mencement of the siege she had been discharged, 
and for some days she found employment in a 
Government workshop, but for the last three 
weeks she had wandered here and there, vainly 
asking for work. One by one she had sold ev- 
ery article of dress she possessed, except the 
scanty garments she wore, and she had lived 
upon bread and celery. The day before she 
had spent her last sou, and when I saw her she 
had come down to the river, starving and ex- 
hausted, to throw herself into it. "But the 
water looked so cold, I did not dare," she said. 
Thus spoke the grisette of Paris, very different 
from the gay, thoughtless being of French ro- 
mance, who lives in a garret, her window shroud- 
ed with flowers, is adored by a student, and 
earns enough money in a few hours to pass the 
rest of the week dancing, gossiping, and amusing 
herself. As I listened to her, I felt ashamed 
of myself for repining because I had only had 
one plate of meat. The hopeless, desolate con- 
dition of this poor girl is that of many of her 
class to-day. But why should they complain? 
Is not King William the instrument of Heaven, 
and is he not engaged in a holy cause ? That 
Kings should fight and that seamstresses should 
weep is in the natural order of things. French- 
men and Frenchwomen only deserve to be mas- 
sacred or starved if they are so lost to all sense 
of what is just as to venture to struggle against 
the dismemberment of their country, and do 



not understand how meet and right it is that 
their fellow-countrymen in Alsace should be 
converted into German subjects. 

General Vinoy, who was in the Crimea, and 
who takes a somewhat larger view of things than 
the sententious Trochu, has been good enough 
to furnish me with a pass, which allows me to 
wander unmolested anywhere within the French 
outposts. "If you attempt to pass them," ob- 
serves the General, "you will be shot by the 
sentinels, in obedience to my orders." A gen- 
eral order also permits any one to go as far as 
the line of the forts. Yesterday I chartered a 
cab and went to Boulogne, a village on the Seine, 
close by the wood of the same name. We drove 
through a portion of the Bois ; it contained more 
soldiers than trees. . Line and artillerymen were 
camped everywhere, and every fifty yards a group 
was engaged in skinning or cutting up a dead 
horse. The village of Boulogne had been de- 
serted by almost all the inhabitants. Across 
some of the streets leading to the river there 
were barricades, others were open. In most of 
the houses there were soldiers, and others were 
in rifle-pits and trenches. A brisk exchange of 
shots was going on with the Prussians, who were 
concealed in the opposite houses of St. Cloud. 
I can not congratulate the enemy upon the ac- 
curacy of their aim, for although several evilly- 
disposed Prussians took a shot at my cab, their 
bullets whistled far above our heads, and after 
one preliminary kick, the old cab-horse did not 
even condescend to notice them. As for the 
cabman, he was slightly in liquor, and at one of 
the cross-streets leading to the river he got off 
his box, and performed a war-dance to show his 
contempt for the skill of the enemies of his na- 
tion. In the Grand Place there was a long bar- 
ricade, and behind it men, women, and children 
were crouching watching the opposite houses, 
from which every now and then a puff of smoke 
issued, followed by a sharp report. The sol- 
diers were very orderly and good-natured ; as I 
had a glass, some of them took me up into the 
garrets of a deserted house, from the windows 
of which we tried in vain to espy our assailants. 
My friends fired into several of the houses from 
which smoke issued, but with what effect I do 
not know. The amusement of the place seemed 
to be to watch soldiers running along an open 
road which was exposed to fire for about thirty 
yards. Two had been killed in the morning, 
but this did not appear in any way to diminish 
the zest of the sport. At least twenty soldiers 
ran the gauntlet whilst I was there, but not one 
of them was wounded. As well as I could make 
out, the damage done to St. Cloud by the bombs 
of Mont Vale'rien is very inconsiderable. A 
portion of the Palace and a few houses were in 
ruins, but that was all. There is a large bar- 
rack there which the soldiers assured me is lit 
up every night, and why this building has not 
been shelled neither they nor I could under- 
stand. The newspapers say that the Prussians 
have guns on the unfinished redoubt of Brinle- 
rion ; it was not above 1000 yards from where 



52 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 25th. 



I was standing, but with my glass I could not 
make out that there were any there. Several 
officers with whom I spoke said that it was very 
doubtful. On my return, my cabman, who had 
got over his liquor, wanted double his fare. 
"For myself," he said, "lam a Frenchman, 
and I should scorn to ask for money for running 
a risk of being shot by a canaille of a German, 
but think of my horse;" and then he patted the 
faithful steed, whom I may possibly have the 
pleasure to meet again, served up in a sauce 
piquante. The newspapers, almost without ex- 
ception, protest against the mediation of Eng- 
land and Russia, which they imagine is offered 
by these Powers. " It is too late," says the or- 
gan of M. Picard. " Can France accept a me- 
diation which will snatch from her the enemy at 
the moment when victory is certain ?" 

October 25th. 

Has General Trochu a plan? — if so, what is 
it ? It appears to me, as Sir Robert Peel would 
have said, that he has only three courses to pur 
sue : first, to do nothing, and to capitulate as 
soon as he is starved out ; this would, I reckon, 
bring the siege to an end in about two months : 
secondly, to fight a battle with all his disposable 
forces, which might be prolonged for several 
days, and thus risk all upon one great venture : 
thirdly, to cut his way out of Paris with the line 
and the Mobiles. The two united would form 
a force of about 150,000 men, and, supported by 
500 cannon, it may reasonably be expected that 
the Prussian lines would be pierced. In this 
case a junction might be effected with any army 
which exists in the provinces, and the combined 
force might throw itself upon the enemy's line 
of communications. In the mean time Paris 
would be defended by its forts and its ramparts. 
The former would be held by the sailors and the 
mobilized National Guards of Paris, the latter 
by the Sedentary Garde National e. Which of 
these courses will be adopted, it is impossible to 
say ; the latter, however, is the only one which 
seems to present even a chance of ultimate suc- 
cess. With respect to the second, I do not think 
that the Mobiles could stand for days or even for 
hours against the artillery and musketry force of 
their opponents. They are individually brave, 
but like all raw troops they become excited un- 
der fire, shoot wildly, then rush forward in or- 
der to engage in a hand-to-hand encounter, and 
break before they reach the Prussian lines. In 
this respect the troops of the line are not much 
better. The Prussian tactics, indeed, have rev- 
olutionized the whole system of warfare, and the 
French, until they have learnt them, will always 
go to the wall. 

Every day that this siege lasts, convinces me 
more and more that General Trochu is not the 
right man in the right place. He writes long- 
winded letters, utters Spartan aphorisms, and 
complains of his colleagues, his generals, and his 
troops. The confidence which was felt in him 
is rapidly diminishing. He is a good, respect- 
able, honest man, without a grain of genius, or 
of that fierce indomitable energy which some- | 



times replaces it. He would make a good Min- 
ister of War in quiet times, but he is about as 
fit to command in the present emergency as 
Mr. Cardwell would be. His two principal mil- 
itary subordinates, Vinoy and Ducrot, are excel- 
lent Generals of Division, but nothing more. 
As for his civilian colleagues, they are one and 
all hardly more practical than Professor Faw- 
cett. Each has some crotchet of his own, each 
likes to dogmatize and to speechify, and each 
considers the others to be idiots, and has a small 
following of his own, which regards him as a 
species of divinity. They are philosophers, ora- 
tors, or legists, but they are neither practical 
men nor statesmen. I understand that Gen- 
eral Trochu says that the most sensible among 
them is Rochefort. 

We want to know what has become of Ser- 
geant Truffet. As the Prussians are continu- 
ally dinning it into Europe that the French fire 
on their flags of truce, the following facts, for 
the truth of which I can vouch, may, perhaps, 
account for it ; if, indeed, it has ever occurred. 
A few days ago, some French soldiers, behind a 
barricade a little in advance of the Moulin Sa- 
gui, saw a Bavarian crawl towards them, wav- 
ing a white flag. When he stopped, the sol- 
diers called to him to come forward, but he re- 
mained, still waving his flag. Sergeant Truffet 
then got over the barricade, and went towards 
him. Several Germans immediately rushed 
forward, and sergeant, flag, and Germans, dis- 
appeared within the enemy's lines. The next 
day, General Vinoy sent an officer to protest 
against this gross violation of the laws of war, 
and to demand that the sergeant should be re- 
stored. The officer went to Creteil, thence he 
was sent to Choisy le Roi, where General Jem- 
plin (if this is how he spells his name) declined 
to produce the sergeant, who, he said, was a de- 
serter, or to give any explanation as to his 
whereabouts. Now Truffet, as his companions 
can testify, had not the remotest intention to 
desert. He was a good and steady soldier. 
He became a prisoner, through a most odious 
stratagem, and a Prussian general, although the 
facts have been officially brought before him, 
has refused to release him. The Germans are 
exceedingly fond of trumping up charges against 
the French, but they have no right to expect to 
be believed, until they restore to us our Truffet, 
and punish the Bavarians who entrapped him 
by means of a false flag of truce. 

The subscription for the 1500 cannon hangs 
fire. The question, however, whether both can- 
non and Chassepots can be made in Paris is 
solved, as the private workshops are making 
daily deliveries of both to Government. At 
the commencement of the siege it was feared 
that there would not be enough projectiles ; 
these, also, are now being manufactured. For 
the last week, the forts have been firing at every 
thing and any thing. The admirals in com- 
mand say that the sailors lose themselves so, 
that they are obliged to allow them to fire more 
frequently than is absolutely necessary. 



Oct. 27th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



53 



I have been endeavoring to form an estimate of 
the absolute cost in money of the siege, per diem. 
The National Guard receive in pay £24,000; 
rations to themselves and families amount to 
about £10,000 ; the Mobiles do not cost less than 
£30,000. Unproductive industries connected 
with the war, about £15,000. Rations to the 
destitute, £5000. When, in addition to these 
items, it is remembered that every productive 
industry is at a stand-still, it is no exaggeration 
to say that Paris is eating its head off at the 
rate of £200,000 per diem. 

Flourens has been re-elected commander-in- 
chief of five battalions of Belleville National 
Guards. The Government, however, declines 
to recognize this cumulative command. The 
" Mayor " writes a letter to-day to the Combat 
denouncing the Government, and demanding 
that the Republic "should decree victory," and 
shoot every unsuccessful general. Blanqui says 
that he lost his election as commander of a bat- 
talion, through the intrigues of the Jesuits. It 
was proposed on Saturday, at a club, to make a 
demonstration before the Hotel de Ville, in fa- 
vor of M. Mottu, the Mayor of the eleventh ar- 
rondissement, who was dismissed on account of 
his crusade against crucifixes. An amendment, 
however, was carried, putting it off until famine 
gives the friends of a revolution new adherents. 
Crucifixes were denounced by an orator in the 
course of the evening, as " impure nudities, 
which ought not to be suffered in public places, 
on account of our daughters." 

The great meat question is left to every ar- 
rondissement to decide according to its own 
lights. As a necessary consequence of this, 
while in one part of Paris it takes six hours to 
get a beefsteak, in others, where a better sys- 
tem of distribution prevails, each person can 
obtain his ration of 100 grammes without any 
extraordinary delay. Butter now costs 18 fr. 
the pound. Milk is beginning to get scarce. 
The " committee of alimentation " recommends 
mothers to nourish their babies from what Mr. 
Dickens somewhere calls "nature's founts." 

I had a conversation yesterday with one of 
the best writers on the French press, and I ask- 
ed him to tell me what were the views of the 
sensible portion of the population respecting the 
situation. He replied, "We always were op- 
posed to the Empire ; we knew what the conse- 
quences eventually would be. The deluge has 
overtaken us, and we must accept the conse- 
quences. In Paris, few who really are able to 
form a just estimate of our resources can ex- 
pect that the siege can have any but a disas- 
trous termination. Every one, however, has 
lost so much, that he is indifferent to what re- 
mains. We feel that Paris would be disgraced 
if at least by a respectable defense she does not 
show that she is ready to sacrifice herself for 
France." "But," I said, "you are only put- 
ting off the inevitable hour at a heavy cost to 
yourself." "Perhaps," he replied, "we are 
not acting wisely, but you must take into con- 
sideration our national weaknesses; it is all 



very well to say that we ought to treat now, and 
endeavor to husband our resources, so as to take 
our revenge in twenty years, but during that 
twenty years we should not venture to show 
ourselves abroad, or hold up our heads at home." 
"In the end, however, you must treat," I said. 
"Never," he replied. " Germany may occupy 
Alsace and Lorraine, but we will never recog- 
nize the fact that they are no longer French." 
"I hardly see," I said, "that this will profit 
you." " Materially, perhaps not," he answer- 
ed, " but at least we shall save our honor." 
"And what, pray, will happen after the capitu- 
lation of Paris?" " Practical!}'," he replied, 
" there is no Government in France ; there will 
not be for about two years, and then, probably, 
we shall have the Orleans princes." The opin- 
ions enunciated by this gentleman are those of 
most of the doctrinaires. They appear to be 
without hope, without a policy, and without any 
very definite idea how France is to get out of 
the singularly false position in which the loss 
of her army, and the difficulty of her people to 
accept the inevitable consequences, have placed 
her. My own impression is, that the provinces 
will in the end insist upon peace at any cost, as 
a preliminary step towards some regular form 
of government and the withdrawal of the Ger- 
man troops, whose prolonged occupation of de- 
partment after department must exhaust the 
entire recuperative resources of the country. 

October 21th. 

At an early hour yesterday morning, about 
100 English congregated at the gate of Cha- 
renton en route for London. There were with 
them about GO Americans, and 20 Russians, who 
also were going to leave us. Imagine the in- 
dignation of these " Cives Romani," when they 
were informed that, while the Russians and the 
Americans would be allowed to pass the Prus- 
sian outposts, owing to the list of the English 
wishing to go not having reached Count Bis- 
marck in time, they would have to put off their 
journey to another day. The guard had liter- 
ally to be turned out to prevent them from en- 
deavoring to force their way through the whole 
German army. I spoke this morning to an 
English butler who had made one of the part}\ 
This worthy man evidently was of opinion that 
the end of the world is near at hand, when a 
butler, and a most respectable person, is treated 
in this manner. " Pray, sir, may I ask," he 
said, with bitter scorn, " whether her Majesty 
is still on the throne in England ?" I replied, 
" I believed that she was." " Then," he went 
on, " has this Count Bismarck, as they call him, 
driven the British nobles out of the House of 
Lords ? Nothing which this feller does would 
surprise me now." Butler, Charge d'Affaires, 
and the other cives, are, I understand, to make 
another start, as soon as the "feller" conde- 
scends to answer a letter which has been for- 
warded to him, asking him to fix a day for their 
departure. 

We are daily anticipating an attack on the 
southern side of the city. The Prussians are 



54 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 28th. 



close into the forts on their line from Meudon 
to Choisy-le-Roi. Two days ago it was sup- 
posed that they were dragging their siege-guns 
to batteries which they had prepared for them, 
notwithstanding our fire, which until now we 
proudly imagined had rendered it impossible for 
them to put a spade to the ground. Our generals 
believe, I know not with what truth, that the 
Prussians have only got twenty-six siege-guns. 
If they are on the plateau of Meudon, and if 
they carry, as is asserted, nine kilometres, a 
large portion of the city on the left bank of the 
Seine will be under fire. On our side we have 
approached so close to the villages along the 
Prussian line in this direction, that one side or 
the other must in self-defense soon make an at- 
tack. 

The newspapers of yesterday morning having 
asserted that Choisy-le-Roi was no longer oc- 
cupied by the enemy, I went out in the after- 
noon to inspect matters. I got to the end of 
the village of Vitry, where the advanced posts, 
to whom I showed my pass, asked me where I 
wanted to go. I replied, to Choisy-le-Roi. A 
corporal pointed to a house at some distance 
beyond where we were standing. " The Prus- 
sians are in that house," he said. " If you like, 
you can go forward and look at them ; they are 
not firing." So forward I went. I was within 
a hundred yards of the house when someFrancs- 
tireurs, hid in the field to the right of the road, 
commenced firing, and the Fort dTvry from be- 
hind opened fire. The Prussians on their side 
replied with their needle-guns. I got behind a 
tree, feeling that my last hour was come. There 
I remained about half an hour, for whenever I 
moved a bullet came whizzing near me. At 
last a thought, a happy thought, occurred to 
me. I rolled myself into a ditch, which ran 
alongside the road, and down this ditch I crept 
until I got close to the barricade, over which I 
climbed with more haste than dignity. The 
soldiers were greatly amazed at my having real- 
ly believed a statement which I had read in the 
newspapers, and their observations respecting 
the Parisians and their " organs" were far from 
complimentary. On my way back by Mont- 
rouge, I stopped to gossip with some Breton 
Mobiles. They, too, spoke with the utmost 
scorn of the patriots within the walls. "We 
are kept here," they said, " to defend these 
men, all of whom have arms like us ; they live 
comfortably inside the ramparts, while the prov- 
inces are being ravaged." These Breton Mo- 
biles are the idols of the hour. They are to 
the Republic what the Zouaves were to the 
Empire. They are very far, however, from re- 
ciprocating the admiration which the Republic- 
ans entertain for them. They are brave, de- 
vout, credulous peasants, care far more for Brit- 
tany than they do for Paris, and regard the in- 
dividuals who rule by the grace of Paris with 
feelings the reverse of friendly. The army and 
the Mobiles, indeed, like being cooped up here 
less and less every day, and they can not un- 
derstand why the 300,000 National Guards who 



march and drill in safety inside the capital 
do not come outside and rough it like them. 
While I was talking to these Bretons one of 
them blew his nose with his handkerchief. His 
companions apologized to me for this piece of 
affectation. "He is from Finisterre," they 
said. In Finisterre, it appears, luxury is en- 
ervating the population, and they blow their 
noses with handkerchiefs ; in other parts of 
Brittany, where the hardy habits of a former age 
still prevail, a more simple method is adopted. 

The volunteering from the National Guard 
for active service has been a failure. Forty 
| thousand men were required ; not seven thou- 
i sand have sent in their names. The Ultras 
say that it is a scheme to get rid of them ; the 
I bourgeoisie say nothing, but volunteer all the 
I less. The fact is, the siege as far as regards 
the Parisians has been as yet like hunting — all 
the pleasure of war, with one per cent, of the 
danger ; and so long as they can help it they 
have no intention to increase that percentage. 
! As for the fifteen hundred cannon, they have 
• not yet been made ; but many of them have 
I already been named. One is to be called the 
"Jules Favre," one the "Populace." "We 
J already hear them thunder, and see the Prus- 
sians decimated," says the Temps, and its edi- 
! tor is not the first person who has counted his 
1 chickens before they are hatched. 

All yesterday afternoon and evening the Fort 
of Issy, and the battery of the Bois de Boulogne, 
fired heavily on Brinborion and Meudon, with 
what result no one knows. Yesterday morning 
the Combat announced that Marshal Bazaine 
was treating for the surrender of Metz in the 
name of Napoleon. The Government was in- 
, terviewed, and denied the fact. In the even- 
ing the Combat was burnt on the Boulevards. 
I The chief of General Ducrot's staff has publish- 
ed a letter protesting against the assertions of 
certain journals that the fight at Malmaison 
' produced no results. On the contrary, he says 
| it gained us sixty square kilometres of ground 
1 in the plain of Genevilliers. 



CHAPTER IX. 

October 2Sth. 
I see at a meeting of the mayors, the popu- 
lation of Paris is put down at 2,036,000. This 
does not include the regular army, or the Ma- 
rines and Mobiles outside and within the lines. 
The consumption of meat, consequently, at the 
rate of 100 grammes per diem, must amount 
I to between 400,000 and 500,000 lbs. per dierm-j 
Although mutton according to the tariff is 
cheaper than beef, I rarely see any at the res- 
taurants. This tells its own tale, and I imag- 
j ine that in three weeks from now at the very 
latest fresh meat will have come to an end. 

I am reluctantly coming to the conclusion 
I that there is no more fight in the working-men 
1 than in the bourgeois. The National Guard in 
j Montmartre and Batignolles have held an in- 



Oct. 30til] THE BESIEGED KESIDENT IN PARIS. 55 

dignation-meeting to protest against their be- ] the armies of Germany are to be driven out of 
ing employed in the forts. A law was passed France. 



on August 10 calling under arms all unmarried 
men between 25 and 40. In Paris it has never 
been acted on ; it would, however, be far better 
to regularly enroll this portion of the National 
Guard as soldiers than to ask for volunteers. 
As long as these "sedentary" warriors can 
avoid regular service, or subjecting themselves 
to the discipline and the hardships of real sol- 
diers, they will do so. Before the Pantheon, the 
mayor of an arrondissement sits on a platform, 
writing down the names of volunteers. When- 
ever one makes his appearance, a roll of drums 
announces to his fellow-citizens that he has un- 
dertaken to risk his valuable life outside the 
ramparts. It really does appear too monstrous 
that the able-bodied men of this city should 
wear uniforms, learn the goose-step, and refuse 
to take any part in the defense within shot of 
the enemy. That they should object to be em- 
ployed in a campaign away from their homes, 
is hardly in accordance with their appeal to the 
provinces to rise en masse to defend France, but 
that they should decline to do any thing but go 
over every twelve days to the ramparts, is hard- 
ly fighting even for their own homes. Surely 
as long as the siege lasts they ought to consid- 
er that the Government has a right to use 
them anywhere within the lines of investment. 
They make now what they call military prom- 
enades ; that is to say, they go out at one gate, 
keep well within the line of the forts, and come 
in at another gate. Some of the battalions are 
ready to face the enemy, although they will not 
submit to any discipline. The majority, how- 
ever, do not intend to fight outside the ram- 
parts. 

I was reading yesterday the account of a 
court-martial on one of these heroes, who had 
fallen out with his commanding officer, and 
threatened to pass his sword through his body. 
The culprit, counsel urged, was a man of an 
amiable, though excitable disposition ; the fa- 
ther of two sons, had once saved a child from 
drowning, and had presented several curiosities 
to a museum. Taking these facts into consid- 
eration, the Court condemned him to six days' 
imprisonment, his accuser apologized to him, 
and shook hands with him. What is to be ex- 
pected of troops when military offenses of the 
grossest kind are treated in this fashion? I 
know myself officers of the Garde Mobile, who, 
when they are on duty at the ramparts, quietly 
leave their men there, and come home to din- 
ner. No one appears to consider this any thing 
extraordinary. Well may General Trochu look 
up to the sky when it is overcast, and wish that 
he were in Brittany shooting woodcocks. He 
has undertaken a task beyond his own strength, 
and beyond the strength of the greatest general 
that ever lived. How can the Parisians expect 
to force the Prussians to raise the siege ? They 
decline to be soldiers, and yet imagine that in 
some way or other, not only is their city not to 
be desecrated by the foot of the invader, but that 



October 50th. 
We really have had a success. Between the 
north-eastern and the north-western forts there 
is a plain, cut up by small streams. The high 
road from Paris to Senlis runs through the mid- 
dle of it, and on this road, at a distance of about 
six kilometres from Paris, is the village of 
Bourget, which was occupied by the Prussians. 
It is a little in advance of their lines, which fol- 
low a small river called the More'e, about two 
kilometres in the rear. At 5 a.m. last Friday 
Bourget was attacked by a regiment of Francs- 
tireurs and the 9th Battalion of the Mobiles of 
the Seine. The Prussians were driven out of 
it, and fell back to the river Moree. During 
the whole of Friday the Prussian artillery fired 
upon the village, and sometimes there was a 
sharp interchange of shots between the advanced 
posts. On Friday night two attacks in consid- 
erable force were directed against the position, 
but both of them failed. At nine on Saturday 
morning, after a very heavy artillery fire from 
the batteries at Staines and Dugny, which was 
replied to from the forts of Aubervilliers and 
l'Est, La Briche, and St. Denis, heavy masses 
of infantry advanced from Staines and Gonesse. 
When they approached the village the fire which 
was concentrated on them was so heavy that 
they were obliged to fall back. At about 
twelve o'clock I went out by the gate of La 
Villette. Between the ramparts and the Fort 
of Aubervilliers there were large masses of 
troops held in reserve, and I saw several battal- 
ions of National Guards among them, belong- 
ing, I heard, to the Volunteers. I pushed on 
to an inn situated at the intersection of the 
roads to Bourget and Courneuve. There I was 
stopped. It was raining hard, and all I could 
make out was that Prussians and French were 
busily engaged in firing, the former into Bour- 
get, the latter into Staines and Dugny. It ap- 
pears to have been feared that the Prussians 
would make an attack from Bourget upon either 
St. Denis or Aubervilliers; it was discovered, 
however, that they had no batteries there. 
Whether we shall be able to hold the position, 
or whether, if we do, we shall derive any benefit 
from it beyond having a large area in which to 
pick up vegetables, time alone will prove. On 
returning into Paris, I came across, in the Rue 
Rivoli, about 200 patriots of all ages, brandish- 
ing flags and singing patriotic songs. These 
were National Guards, who had been engaged 
in a pacific demonstration at the Hotel de 
Ville, to testify their affection to the Republic, 
and to demonstrate that that affection should 
be reciprocated by the Republic in the form of 
better arms, better pay, and better food. They 
had been harangued by Rochefort and Arago. 
I see by this morning's paper that the latter re- 
quested them to swear that not only would they 
drive the Prussians out of France, but that they 
would refuse to treat with any Government in 
Germany except a Republican one. 



56 



THE BESIEGED EESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Oct. 30th. 



A decree of General Trochu converts the 
Legion of Honor into a military decoration. 
The journalists of all colors are excessively in- 
dignant at this, for they all expect, when the 
party which they support is in power, to be 
given this red ribbon as a matter of course. It 
has been so lavishly distributed that any one 
who has not got it is almost obliged to explain 
why he is without it, in the way a person would 
excuse himself if he came into a drawing-room 
without a coat. 

The theatres are by degrees reopening. In 
order not to shock public opinion, the pro- 
grammes of their entertainments are exceeding- 
ly dull. Thus the Come'die Francaise bill of 
fare for yesterday was a speech, a play of Mo- 
liere's without costumes, and an ode to Liberty. 
I can understand closing the theatres entirely, 
but it seems to me absurd increasing the gen- 
eral gloom, by opening them in order to make 
the audiences wish that they were closed. 
Fancy, for an evening's entertainment, a speech 
from Mr. Cole, C.B. ; the play of Hamlet 
played in the dresses of the present century ; 
and an ode from Mr. Tupper. 

A few days ago the newspapers asserted that 
M. Thiers had entered Paris, having been pro- 
vided with a safe-conduct by the King of Prus- 
sia. It is now said that he is not here yet, but 
that he shortly will be. Of course, if Count Bis- 
marck allows him to come in, he does so rather 
in the interests of Prussia than of France. I 
can not believe myself that, unless Prussia has 
given up the idea of annexing Alsace and Lor- 
raine to Germany, negotiation will be produc- 
tive of good results. If Metz can be taken, if 
the armies of the provinces can be defeated, and 
if the provisions within the city become less 
plentiful than they are now, then perhaps the 
Parisians will accept the idea of a capitulation. 
At present, however, the very large majority be- 
lieve that France must eventually conquer, and 
that the world is lost in wonder and admiration 
of their attitude. The siege is one long holi- 
day to the working-classes. They are as well 
fed as ever they were, and have absolutely noth- 
ing to do except to play at soldiers. Although the 
troops are unable to hold the villages within the 
fire of their forts, they are under the delusion 
that — to use the favorite expression — the cir- 
cle in which we are inclosed is gradually but 
surely being enlarged. I was this morning buy- 
ing cigars at a small tobacconist's. " Well," 
said the proprietor of the shop to me, " so we 
are to destroy the Prussians in twenty days." 
"Really," I said. " Yes," he replied, "I was 
this morning at the Mairie ; there was a crowd 
before it complaining that they could not get 
meat. A gentleman — a functionary — got upon 
a stool. 'Citizens and citizenesses,' he said, 
4 be calm ; continue to preserve the admirable 
attitude which is eliciting the admiration of the 
world. I give you my honor that arrangements 
have been made to drive the Prussians away 
from Paris in twenty days.' Of course," added 
my worthy bourgeois, " this functionary would 



not have spoken thus had the Government not 
revealed its plans to him." At this moment a 
well-dressed individual entered the shop and 
asked for a subscription for the construction of 
a machine which he had invented to blow up 
the whole Prussian army. I expected to see 
him handed over to a policeman, but instead of 
this the bourgeois gave him two francs ! What, 
I ask, is to be expected of a cify peopled by such 
credulous fools ? 

A dispute is going on as to the relative advan- 
tages of secular and religious education. The 
Mayor of the 23d arrondissement publishes to- 
day an order to the teachers within his domains, 
forbidding them to take the children under their 
charge to hear mass on Sundays. The munici- 
pality has also published a decree doubling the 
amount contributed by the city to the primary 
schools. Instead of eight million francs it is to 
be henceforward sixteen millions. This is all 
very well, but surely it would be better to put 
off questions affecting education until the siege 
is over. The alteration in the nomenclature 
of the streets also continues. The Boulevard 
Prince Eugene is to be called the Boulevard 
Voltaire, and the statue of the Prince has been 
taken down, to be replaced by the statue of the 
philosopher ; the Rue Cardinal Fesch is to be 
called the Rue de Chateaudun. The newspa- 
pers also demand that the Rue de Londres should 
be rebaptized on the ground that the name of 
Londres is detested even more than Berlin. "If 
Prussia " (says one writer) " wages against us 
a war of bandits and savages, it is England 
which, in the gloom of its sombre country houses, 
pays the Uhlans who oppress our peasants, vio- 
late their wives, massacre our soldiers, and pil- 
lage our provinces. She rejoices over our suf- 
ferings." 

The head-quarters of the Ambulance Inter- 
nationale are to move to-morrow from the Pa- 
lais de l'lndustrie to the Grand Hotel. In the 
Palais it was impossible to regulate the ventila- 
tion. It was always either too hot or too cold. 
Another objection to it which was urged by the 
medical men was, that one-half of it served as a 
store for munitions of war. 

4 P.M. 

So we have been kicked neck and crop out of 
Bourget. I have got such a cold that I have 
been lying up to-day. A friend of mine has just 
come in, and tells me that at eight this morning 
a regiment on their way to Bourget found the 
Mobiles who were in it falling back. Some 
Prussian troops appeared from between Staines 
and Courneuve, and attempted to cut off the 
retreat. Whether we lost any cannon my friend 
does not know. He thinks not. Some of our 
troops were trapped, the others got away, and 
fell back on the barricades in front of Auber 1 - 
villiers. My friend observes that if it was not 
a rout, it was extremely like one. He thinks 
that we were only allowed to get into Bourget 
in order to be caught like rats in a trap. When 
my friend left the forts were firing on Pierrefitte 
and Etains, and the Prussians were established 



Oct. 31st.] 



THE BESIEGED KESIDENT IN PARIS. 



57 



in front of Bourget. My friend, who thinks he 
has a genius for military matters, observes that 
we ought to have either left Bourget alone, or 
held it with more troops and more artillery. 
The Mobiles told him that they had been 
starving there for forty-eight hours, and only 
had two pieces of twelve, two of four, and one 
mitrailleuse. The Prussians had brought up 
heavy guns, and yesterday they established a 
battery of twenty-one cannon, which cannon- 
aded the village. 

October 31st. 

Yesterday evening until eleven o'clock — a 
late hour now for Paris — the Boulevards were 
crowded. Although the news that Bourget had 
been retaken by the Prussians had been affiche 
at the Mairies, many who asserted it were at 
first treated as friends of Prussia. Little by 
little the fact was admitted, and then every one 
fell to denouncing the Government. To-day 
the official bulletin states that we retreated in 
good order, leaving "some" prisoners. From 
what I hear from officers who were engaged, the 
Mobiles fought well for some time, although 
their ammunition was so wet that they could 
only fire twelve shots with their cannon, and 
not one with their mitrailleuse. When they 
saw that they were likely to be surrounded, 
there was a stampede to Aubervilliers and to 
Drancy, the latter of which was subsequently 
evacuated. To-day we have two pieces of 
news — that M. Thiers entered Paris yesterday, 
and that Metz has fallen. The Journal des 
Debats also publishes copious extracts from a 
file of provincial papers up to the 26th, which it 
has obtained. 

I hear that M. Thiers advises peace on any 
terms. The Government of Paris are in a dif- 
ficult position. They have followed in the 
course of Palikao. By a long suggestio falsi et 
suppressio veri they have led the population of 
this city to believe that the position of France 
has bettered itself every day that the siege has 
lasted. We have been told that Bazaine could 
hold out indefinitely, that vast armies were 
forming in the provinces, and would, before the 
middle of November, march to the relief of 
Paris ; that the investing army was starving, 
and that it had been unable to place a single 
gun in position within the range of the forts ; 
that we had ample provisions until the month 
of February, and that there would not be the 
slightest difficulty in introducing convoys. Any 
one who ventured to question these facts was 
held up to public execration. General Trochu 
announced that he had a " plan," and that if 
only he were left to carry it out, it must result 
in success. All this time the General and the 
members of the Government, who were at log- 
gerheads with each ether, privately confessed to 
their friends that the situation was growing ev- 
ery day more critical. 

The attempt to obtain volunteers from the 
population of the capital for active service out- 
side the gates has resulted in a miserable fail- 
ure, and the Government does not even ven- 



ture to carry out the law, which subjects all be- 
tween twenty-five and thirty-five to enrollment 
in the army. With respect to public opinion, 
all are opposed to the entry of the Prussians 
into Paris, or to a peace which would involve 
a cession of territory ; but many equally object 
to submitting either to real hardship or real dan- 
ger. They hope against hope that what they 
call their "sublime attitude" will prevent the 
Prussians from attacking them, and that they 
may pass to history as heroes without having 
done any thing heroic. I had thought that the 
working-men would fight well, but I think so no 
longer. Under the Empire they got high wages 
for doing very little. Since the investment of 
the capital, they have taken their 1 fr. 50 c. and 
their rations for their families, and done hardly 
any thing except drill, gossip, and about once a 
week go on the ramparts. So fond they are 
of this idle existence that although workshops 
offer 6 fr. a day to men, they can not obtain 
hands. With respect to provisions, as yet the 
poorer classes have been better off than they 
ever were before. Every one gets his 50 or 100 
grammes of meat, and his share of bread. Those 
persons alone who were accustomed to luxuries 
have suffered from their absence. Meat of 
some kind is, however, to be obtained by any 
person who likes to pay for it about twice its 
normal value. So afraid is the Government 
of doing any thing which may irritate the popula- 
tion, that, contrary to all precedent, the garri- 
son and the wounded alone are fed with salt 
meat. What the result of M. Thiers's mission 
will be, it is almost impossible to say. The 
Government will be anxious to treat, and prob- 
ably it will put forward feelers to-morrow to see 
how far it may dare go. Some of its members 
already are endeavoring to disconnect them- 
selves from a capitulation, and, if it does take 
place, will assert that they were opposed to it. 
Thus, M. Jules Favre, in a long address to the 
mayors of the banlieus yesterday, goes through 
the old arguments to prove that France never 
desired war. 

This gentleman is essentially an orator, rath- 
er than a statesman. When he went to meet 
Count Bismarck at Ferrieres, he was fully pre- 
pared to agree to the fortresses in Alsace and 
Lorraine being razed ; but when he returned, 
the phrase, il Ni tin pouce du territoire, ni une 
pierre des forteresses," occurred to him, and he 
could not refrain from complicating the situa- 
tion by publishing it. 

To turn for a moment to less serious matters. 
I never shall see a donkey without gratefully 
thinking of a Prussian. If any one happens 
to fall out with his jackass, let me recommend 
him, instead of beating it, to slay and eat it. 
Donkey is now all the fashion. When one is 
asked to dinner, as an inducement one is told 
that there will be donkey. The flesh of this 
obstinate but weak-minded quadruped is deli- 
cious — in color like mutton, firm and savory. 
This siege will destroy many illusions, and 
among them the prejudice which has prevent- 



58 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN FARIS. 



[Nov. 1st. 



ed many animals being used as food. I can 
most solemnly assert that I never wish to taste 
a better dinner than a joint of a donkey or a 
ragout of cat — experto crede. 

November 1st. 

"We have had an exciting twenty-four hours. 
The Government of the National Defense has 
in the course of yesterday been deposed, im- 
prisoned, and has again resumed the direction 
of public affairs. I went yesterday, between one 
and two o'clock, to the Hotel de Ville. On the 
place before it there were about 15,000 persons, 
most of them National Guards from the Fau- 
bourgs, and without arms, shouting, "Vive la 
Commune! Point d'armistice!" Close with- 
in the rails along the facade there were a few 
Mobiles and National Guards on duty. One 
of the two great doorways leading into the Ho- 
tel was open. Every now and then some au- 
thority appeared to make a speech which no 
one could catch ; and at most of the windows 
on the first floor there was an orator gesticula- 
ting. The people round me said that the may- 
ors of Paris had been summoned by Arago, and 
were in one room inside deliberating, while in 
another was the Government. I managed to 
squeeze inside the rails, and stood near the 
open door. At about 2 30 the Mobiles who 
guarded it were pushed back, and the mob was 
forcing its way through it, when Trochu appear- 
ed, and confronted them. What he said I could 
not hear. His voice was drowned in cries of 
"A bas Trochu!" Jules Simon then got on a 
chair, to try the effect of his eloquence; but in 
the midst of his gesticulations a body of armed 
men forced their way through the entrance, and 
with about three hundred of the mob got inside 
the Hotel. Just then three or four shots were 
fired. The crowd outside scampered off, yell- 
ing "Aux armes !" and running over each oth- 
er. I thought it more prudent to remain where 
I was. Soon the mob returned, and made a 
rush at both the doors ; for the one which had 
been open had been closed in the interval. 
This one they were unable to force, but the 
other, which leads up a flight of steps into the 
great covered court in the middle of the build- 
ing, yielded to the pressure, and through it I 
passed with the crowd ; while from the win- 
dows above slips were being thrown out with 
the words "Commune decretee — Dorian presi- 
dent" on them. The covered court was soon 
filled. In the middle of it there is a large 
double staircase leading to a wide landing, 
from which a door and some windows com- 
municate with a long salle. 

This too, was invaded, and for more than two 
hours I remained there. The spectacle was a 
curious one — every body was shouting, every 
body was writing a list of a new Government 
and reading it aloud. In one corner a man 
incessantly blew a trumpet, in another a patriot 
beat a drum. At one end was a table, round 
which the mayors had been sitting, and from 
this vantage-ground Felix Pyat and other vir- 
tuous citizens harangued, and, as I understood, 



proclaimed the Commune and themselves, for 
it was impossible to distinguish a word. The 
atmosphere was stifling, and at last I got out 
of a window on to the landing in the court-yard. 
Here citizens had established themselves every- 
where. I had the pleasure to see the "vener- 
able" Blanqui led up the steps by his admirers. 
This venerable man had, horresco referens, been 
pushed up in a corner, where certain citizens 
had kicked his venerable frame, and pulled his 
venerable white beard, before they had recog- 
nized who he was. By this time it appeared 
to be understood that a Government had been 
constituted, consisting of Blanqui, Ledru Rol- 
lin, Delescluze, Louis Blanc, Flourens, and oth- 
ers. Flourens, whom I now perceived for the 
first time, went through a corridor, with some 
armed men, and I and others followed him. 
We got first into an antechamber, and then 
into a large room, where a great row was going 
on. I did not get farther than close to the door, 
and consequently could not well distinguish 
what was passing, but I saw Flourens standing 
on a table, and I heard that he was calling upon 
the members of the Government of National De- 
: fense, who were seated round it, to resign, and 
■ that Jules Favre was refusing to do so. After 
! a scene of confusion, which lasted half an hour, 
: I found myself, with those round me, pushed 
out of the room, and I heard that the old Gov- 
ernment had been arrested, and that a consul- 
j tation was to take place between it and the new 
one. Feeling hungry, I now went to the door 
j of the Hotel to get out, but I was told I could 
' not do so without a permission from the citizen 
Blanqui. I observed that I was far too inde- 
' pendent a citizen myself to ask any one for a 
permit to go where I liked, and as I walked on 
j the citizen sentinel did not venture to stop me. 
As I passed before Trochu's head-quarters at 
the Louvre I spoke to a captain of the Etat-Ma- 
jor, whom I knew, and whom I saw standing at 
the gate. When he heard that I had just come 
from the Hotel de Ville, he anxiously asked me 
1 what was going on there, and whether I had seen 
! Trochu. General Schmitz, he said, had received 
an order signed by the mayors of Paris to close 
the gates of the town, and not on any pretext to 
; let any one in or out. At the Louvre, he said, 
| all was in confusion, but he understood that Pi- 
| card had escaped from the Hotel de Ville, and 
was organizing a counter-movement at the Min- 
istry of Finance. Having dined, I went off to 
the Place Vendome, as the gtnerale was beating. 
The National Guards of the quarter were hurry- 
ing there, and Mobile battalions were marching 
in the same direction. I found on my arrival 
that this had become the head-quarters of the 
Government : that an officer who had come 
with an order to Picard to go to the Hotel de 
Ville, signed by Blanqui, had been arrested. 
General Tamisier was still a prisoner with the 
Government. Soon news arrived that a battal- 
ion had got inside the Hotel de Ville and had 
managed to smuggle Trochu out by a back door. 
Off I went to the Louvre. There Trochu. his 



Nov. 2d.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



59 



uniform considerably deteriorated, was harang- 
uing some battalions of the Mobiles, who were 
shouting "Vive Trochu!" Other battalions 
were marching down the Rue Rivoli to the Ho- 
tel do Ville. I got into a cab and drove there. 
The Hotel was lit up. On the "place" there 
were not many persons, but all round it, in the 
streets, were Mobiles and Bourgeois National 
Guards, about 20,000 in all. The Hotel was 
guarded, I heard, by a Belleville battalion, but 
I could not get close in to interview them. 
This lasted until about two o'clock in the 
morning, when the battalions closed in, Trochu 
appeared with his staff, and in some way or oth- 
er, for it was so dark nothing could be seen, the 
new Government was ejected ; M. Jules Favre 
and his colleagues were rescued. M. Deles- 
cluze, who was one of the persons there, thus 
describes what took place : "A declaration was 
signed by the new Government declaring that 
on the understanding that the Commune was 
to be elected the next day, and also the Provis- 
ional Government replaced by an elected one, 
the citizens designed at a public meeting to su- 
perintend these elections withdrew." This was 
communicated first to Dorian, who appears to 
have been half a prisoner, half a friend ; then 
to the members of the old Government, who 
were in honorable arrest ; then to Jules Ferry 
outside. A general sort of agreement appears 
then to have been made, that by-gones should be 
by-gones. The Revolutionists went off to bed, 
and matters returned to the point where they 
had been in the morning. Yesterday evening 
a decree was placarded, ordering the municipal 
elections to take place to-day, signed Etienne 
Arago ; and to-day a counter-decree, signed 
Jules Favre, announces that this decree ap- 
peared when the Government was gardt a vue, 
and that on Thursday next a vote is to be taken 
to decide whether there is to be a Commune or 
not. 

To-day the streets are full of National Guards 
marching and countermarching, and General 
Tamisier has held a review of about 10,000 on 
the Place Vendome. Mobile battalions also 
are camped in the public squares. I went to 
the Hotel de Ville at about one o'clock, and 
found Mr. Washbume there. We both came 
to the conclusion that Trochu had got the up- 
per hand. Before the Hotel de Ville there 
were about 5000 Mobiles, and within the build- 
ing every thing appeared quiet. Had General 
Trochu been a wise man he would have antici- 
pated this movement, and not rendered himself 
ridiculous by being imprisoned with his council 
of lawyers and orators for several hours by a 
mob. The working-men who performed this 
feat seemed only to be actuated by a wild de- 
sire to fight out their battle with the Prussians, 
and not to capitulate. They appear to wish to 
be led out, and imagine that their undisciplined 
valor would be a match for the German army. 
They showed their sense by demanding that 
Dorian should be at the head of the new Gov- 
ernment. He is not a demagogue, he has writ- 



ten no dispatches, nor made any speeches, nor 
decreed any Utopian reforms after the manner 
of his colleagues. But, unlike them, he is a 
practical man of business, and this the working- 
men have had discernment enough to discover. 
They are hardly to be blamed if they have ac- 
cepted literally the rhetorical figures of Jules 
Favre. When he said that, rather than yield 
one stone of a French fortress, Paris would 
bury itself beneath its ruins, they believed it. 

I need hardly say that neither the Govern- 
ment nor the bourgeoisie have the remotest 
intention to sacrifice either their own lives or 
their houses merely in order to rival Saragossa. 
They have got themselves into a ridiculous po- 
sition by their reckless vaunts, and they have 
welcomed M. Thiers, as an angel from heaven, 
because they hope that he will be able to save 
them from cutting too absurd a figure. He 
left yesterday at three o'clock, and I under- 
stand he has full powers to negotiate an armis- 
tice upon any terms which will save the amour 
propre of the Parisians. I should not be sur- 
prised, however, if the Government continues 
to resist until the town is in real danger or has 
suffered real privations. If the Parisians take 
it into their heads that they will be able to 
palm themselves off as heroes by continuing for 
a few weeks longer their passive attitude of op- 
position, they will do so. What inclines them 
to submit to conditions now, is not so much the 
capitulation of Bazaine, as the dread that by re- 
maining much longer isolated they will entire- 
ly lose their hold on the Provincials. That 
these Helots should venture to express their 
opinions, or to act except in obedience to orders 
from the capital, fills them with indignation. 

November 2d. 

The Government has issued the following 
form, on which the vote is to be taken to-mor- 
row : "Does the population of Paris maintain, 
Yes or No, the powers of the Government of 
National Defense ?" 

The Ultras bitterly complain that the mem- 
bers of the Government agreed to the election 
of a Commune, on the recommendation of all 
the mayors, and that now they are going back 
from their concession, and are following in the 
steps of the Empire and taking refuge in a 
Plebiscite. They, therefore, recommend their 
friends to abstain from voting. The fact is, 
that the real question at issue is, whether Paris 
is to resist to the end, or whether it is to fall 
back from the determination to do so, which it 
so boldly and so vauntingly proclaimed. The 
bourgeois are getting tired of marching to the 
ramparts, and making no money ; the working- 
men are thoroughly enjoying themselves, and 
are perfectly ready to continue the status quo. 
I confess I rather sympathize with the latter. 
They may not be over-wise, but still it seems 
to me that Paris ought to hold out as long as 
bread lasts, without counting the cost. She 
had invited the world to witness her heroism, 
and now she endeavors to back out of the posi- 
tion which she has assumed. I have not been 



60 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Nov. 3d. 



down to Belleville to-day, but I hear that there 
and in the other outer Faubourgs there is great 
excitement, and the question of a rising is be- 
ing discussed. Flourens and some other com- 
manders of battalions have been cashiered, but 
they are still in command, and no attempt is 
being made to oblige them to recognize the de- 
cree. Rochefort has resigned his seat in the 
Government, on the ground that he consented 
to the election of the Commune. The general 
feeling among the shop-keepers seems to be to 
accept an armistice on almost any terms, be- 
cause they hope that it will lead to peace. We 
will take our revenge, they say, in two years. 
A threat which simply means that if the French 
army can fight them, they will again shout 
11 a Berlin!" M. Thiers is still at Versailles. 
There appears to be a tacit truce, but none 
knows precisely what is going on. A friend 
of mine saw General Trochu yesterday on busi- 
ness, and he tells me that this worthy man was 
then so utterly prostrated that he did not even 
refer to the business which he had come to 
transact. Never was a man more unfit to de- 
fend a great capital. "Why do you not act 
with energy against the Ultras ?" said my 
friend. "I wish," replied Trochu, "to pre- 
serve my power by moral force." This is all 
very well, but can the commander of a besieged 
town be said to have preserved his power when 
he allows himself to be imprisoned by a mob 
for six hours, and then does not venture to 
punish its leaders ? Professor Fustel de Cou- 
langes has written a reply to Professor Momtn- 
sen. He states the case of France with respect 
to Alsace very clearly. "Let Prussia double 
the war-tax she imposes on France, and give 
up this iniquitous scheme of annexation," 
ought to be the advice of every sincere friend 
of peace. In any case, if Alsace and Lorraine 
are turned with the German Rhine Provinces 
into a neutral State, I do hope that we shall 
have the common sense not to guarantee either 
its independence or its neutrality. If we do 
so, within ten years we shall infallibly be drag- 
ged into a Continental war. We have a whim 
about Belgium, one day it will prove a costly 
one ; we can not, however, afford to indulge in 
manv of these whims. 



CHAPTER N. 

November 3d. 
The vote is being taken to-day whether the 
population of Paris maintains in power the Gov- 
ernment of National Defense. On Saturday 
each of the twenty arrondissements is to elect 
a Mayor and four adjuncts, who are to replace 
those nominated by the Government. Of course 
the Government will to-day have a large major- 
ity. Were it to be in the minority, the popu- 
lation would simply assert that it wishes to live 
under no government. This plebiscite is in it- 
self an absurdity. The real object, however, is 
to strengthen the hands of the depositaries of 



power, and to enable them to conclude an ar- 
mistice, which would result in a Constituent 
Assembly, which would free them from the re- 
sponsibility of concluding peace on terms rather 
than accept which they proudly asserted a few 
weeks ago they would all die. The key-note 
of the situation is given by the organs of pub- 
lic opinion, which until now have teemed with 
articles calling upon the population of the cap- 
ital to bury itself beneath its ruins, and thus by 
a heroic sacrifice to serve as an example to the 
whole of France. To-day they say, " It ap- 
pears that the provinces will not allow Paris to 
be heroic. They wish for peace ; we have no 
right to impose upon them our determination to 
fight without hope of victory." The fact is that 
the great mass of the Parisians wish for peace 
at any price. Under the circumstances I do 
not blame them. No town is obliged to imitate 
the example of Moscow. If, however, it mere- 
ly intends to submit to a blockade, and to 
practically capitulate on terms which it scouted 
at first, before any of its citizens have been even 
under fire, and before its provisions are ex- 
hausted, it would do well not to call upon the 
world to witness its sublimity. My impression 
is that on one point alone the Parisians will 
prove obstinate, and that is if the Prussians in- 
sist upon occupying their town ; upon every oth- 
er they will only roar like "sucking doves." 
Rather than allow the German armies to defile 
along the Boulevards, they would give up 
Alsace, Lorraine, and half a dozen other prov- 
inces. As regards the working-men, they have 
far more go in them than the bourgeois, and if 
the Prussians would oblige them by assaulting the 
town, they would fight well in the streets ; but 
with all their shouts for a sortie, I estimate their 
real feelings on the matter by the fact that they 
almost unanimously, on one pretext or another, 
decline to volunteer for active service outside 
the ramparts. 

The elections on Saturday, says M. Jules 
Favre, will be a "negation of the Commune." 
By this I presume he means that the elected 
Mayors and their adjuncts will only exercise 
power in their respective arrondissements, but 
that their collective action will not be recognized. 
As, however, they will be the only legally elect- 
ed body in Paris, and as, undoubtedly, they will 
frequently meet together, it is very probable that 
they will be able to hold their own against the 
Government. The word "commune" is taken 
from the vocabulary of the first Revolution. 
During the Reign of Terror the Municipality 
was all-powerful, and it styled itself a "com- 
mune." By "commune," consequently, is sim- 
ply meant a municipality which is strong enough 
to absorb tacitly a portion of the power legally 
belonging to the Executive. 

The Government now meets at one or other 
of the ministries. At the Hotel de Ville Etienne 
Arago still reigns. Being a member of the Gov- 
ernment himself, he can not well be turned out 
by his own colleagues, but they distrust him, 
and do not clearly know whether he is with them 



Nov. 3d.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



61 



or against them. Yesterday, several battalions 
were stationed round the hotel. Arago came 
out to review them. He was badly received, 
and the officers let him understand that they 
were not there to be reviewed by him. Soon 
afterwards General Tamisier passed along the 
line, and was greeted with shouts of "A bas la 
Commune !" 

I am sorry for Trochu ; he is a good, honor- 
able, high-minded man ; somewhat obstinate, and 
somewhat vain ; but actuated by the best inten- 
tions. He has thrust himself into a hornet's 
nest. In vain he now plaintively complains 
that he has made Paris impregnable, that he 
can not make sorties without field-artillery, and 
that he is neither responsible for the capitulation 
of Metz, nor the rout the other day at Bourget. 
"What, then, say his opponents with some truth, 
was your wonderful plan? Why did you put 
your name to proclamations which called upon 
us, if we could not conquer at least to die? 
Why did you imprison as calumniators those 
who published news from the provinces, which 
you now admit is true? It is by no means 
easy for him or his colleagues to reply to these 
questions. 

General Bellemare has been suspended. He, 
it appears, is to be the scape-goat of the Bourget 
affair. I hear from the Quartier-General that 
the real reason why the artillery did not arrive 
in time to hold this position was, not because 
Bellemare did not ask for it, but because he 
could not get it. Red tape and routine played 
their old game. At St. Denis none could be 
sent because St. Denis is within the " territorial 
defense of Paris," and Bourget is not. In vain 
Bellemare's officers went here and there. They 
were sent from pillar to post, from one aged 
General to another, and at eleven o'clock on the 
day when Bourget was taken, after the troops 
had been driven out of it, the artillery, every 
formality having been gone through, was on its 
way to the village. It is pleasant, whilst one is 
cut off from the outer world, to be reminded by 
these little traits of one's native land, its War- 
office and its Horse-Guards. 

I was out yesterday afternoon along our 
southern advanced posts. A few stray shots 
were occasionally fired by Francs-tireurs ; but 
there seemed to be a tacit understanding that 
no offensive operations should take place. The 
fall of the leaves enables us to distinguish clear- 
ly the earth-works and the redoubts which the 
Prussians have thrown up. I am not a military 
man, but my civilian mind can not comprehend 
why Vanves and Montrouge do not destroy with 
their fire the houses occupied on the plateau of 
Chatillon by the Prussians. I asked an officer, 
who was standing before Vanves, why they did 
not. He shrugged his shoulders, and said, "It 
is part of the plan, I suppose." Trochu is re- 
spected by the troops, but they have little confi- 
dence in his skill as a commander. 

In the evening I went to the Club Rue d'Ar- 
ras, which is presided over by the ' c venerable " ! 
Blanqui in person, and where the ultras of the | 



Ultras congregate. The club is a large square 
room, with a gallery at one end and a long trib- 
une at the other. On entering through a baize 
door one is called upon to contribute a few sous 
to the fund for making cannon. When I got 
there it was about 8 30. The venerable Blan- 
qui was seated at a table on the tribune ; before 
him were two assessors. One an unwholesome 
citizen, with long blond hair hanging down his 
back, the other a most truculent-looking ruf- 
fian. The hall was nearly full ; many were in 
blouses, the rest in uniform ; about one-fifth of 
the audience was composed of women, who ei- 
ther knitted, or nourished the infants which 
they held in their arms. A citizen was speak- 
ing. He held a list in his hand of a new Gov- 
ernment. As he read out the names some were 
applauded, others rejected. I had found a place 
on a bench by the side of a lady with a baby, 
who was occupied, like most of the other babies, 
in taking its supper. Its food, however, appar- 
ently did not agree with it, for it commenced 
to squall lustily. " Silence!" roared a hundred 
voices, but the baby only yelled the louder. 
"Sit upon it," observed some energetic citizens, 
looking at me ; but not being a Herod, I did not 
comply with their order. The mother became 
frightened lest a coup d'etat should be made 
upon her offspring, and, after turning it up and 
solemnly smacking it, took it away from the 
club. By this time orator No. 1 had been suc- 
ceeded by orator No. 2. This gentleman, a 
lieutenant in the National Guard, thus com- 
menced. "Citizens, I am better than any of 
you. (Indignant disapproval.) In the Hotel 
de Ville on Monday I told General Trochu that 
he was a coward." (Tremendous shouts of 
"You are a liar," and men and women shook 
their fists at the speaker.) Up rose the vener- 
able Blanqui. There was a dead silence. "I 
am master here," he said; "when I call a 
speaker to order he must leave the tribune; un- 
til then he remains." The club listened to the 
words of the sage with reverential awe, and the 
orator was allowed to go on. "This, perhaps, 
no one will deny," he continued. "I took an 
order from the Citizen Flourens to the public 
printing establishment. The order was the 
deposition of the Government of National De- 
fense" — (great applause) — and satisfied with his 
triumph the lieutenant relapsed into private 
life. 

After him followed several other citizens, 
who proposed resolutions, which were put and 
carried. I only remember one of them, it was 
that the Jesuits in Vaugirard (a school) should 
at once be ejected from the territories of the 
Republic. At ten o'clock the venerable Blan- 
qui announced that the sitting was over, and 
the public noisily withdrew. An attempt has 
been made by the respectable portion of the 
community to establish a club at the Porte St. 
Martin Theatre, where speakers of real emi- 
nence nightly address audiences. I was there 
a few evenings ago, and heard A. Coquerel and 
M. Lebueier, both Protestant pastors, deliver 



62 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Noy. 5th. 



really excellent speeches. The former is se- 
vere and demure, the latter a perfect Boanerges. 
He frequently took up a chair and dashed it to 
the ground to emphasize his words. This club 
is usually presided over by M. Cernuschi, a 
banker, who was in bad odor with the Imperial 
Government for having subscribed a large sum 
for the electoral campaign against the Plebis- 
cite. 

Another club is held at the Folies Bergeres, 
an old concert-hall, something like the Alham- 
bra. The principal orator here is a certain 
Falcet, a burly athlete, who was, I believe, 
formerly a professional wrestler. Here the 
quality of the speeches is poor, the sentiments 
of the speakers mildly Republican. At the 
Club Montmartre the president is M. Tony Re- 
vaillon, a journalist of some note. The assess- 
ors are always elected. A person proposes 
himself, and the President puts his name to the 
audience. Generally a dozen are rejected be- 
fore the two necessary to make the meeting in 
order are chosen. Every time I have been 
there an old man — I am told an ex-professor 
in a girls' school — has got up, and with great 
unction blessed the National Guards — the "he- 
roic defenders of our homes." Sometimes he 
is encored several times ; and were his audience 
to let him, I believe that he would continue 
blessing the "heroic defenders" until the next 
morning. The old gentleman has a most rev- 
erent air, and I should imagine in quiet times 
goes about as a blind man with a dog. He 
was turned out of the school in which he was 
a professor — a profane disbeliever in all virtue 
assures me — for being rather too affectionate 
towards some of the girls. "I like little girls 
— big ones, too," Artemus "Ward used to say, 
and so it appears did this worthy man. Be- 
sides the clubs which I have mentioned, there 
are above 100 others. Most of them are kept 
going by the sous which are collected for can- 
non, or some other vague object. Almost all 
are usually crowded ; the proceedings at most 
of them are more or less disorderly ; the reso- 
lutions carried more or less absurd, and the 
speeches more or less bad. With the exception 
of the Protestant pastors, and one or two oth- 
ers, I have not heard a single speaker able to 
talk connectedly for five minutes. Wild in- 
vectives against the Prussians, denunciations 
against Europe, abuse of every one who differs 
from the orator, and the very tallest of talk 
about France — what she has done, what she is 
doing, and what she will do — form the staple 
of almost all the speeches. 

Evening. 

I went down to Belleville this afternoon. Ev- 
ery thing was quiet. The people, as usual, in 
the streets doing nothing. If you can imagine 
the whole of Southwark paid and fed by the 
Government, excused from paying rent, arrayed 
in kepis and some sort of uniform, given guns, and 
passing almost all the time gossiping, smoking, 
and idling, you will be able to form a correct no- 
tion of the aspect of Belleville and the other out- 



er faubourgs. The only demonstration I have 
heard of has been one composed of women, who 
marched down the Rue du Temple behind a red 
flag, shouting "Vive la Commune." As far as 
is yet known, about one-seventh of the popula- 
tion have voted " No." The army and the Mo- 
biles have almost all voted "Yes." A friend 
of mine, who was out driving near Bobigny, says 
he was surrounded by a Mobile regiment, who 
were anxious to know what was passing in Paris. 
He asked them how they had voted. "For 
peace," they replied. "If the National Gov- 
ernment wish to continue the war, they must 
come out here and fight themselves." Many 
battalions have issued addresses to the Parisians 
saying that they will not fight for a Commune, 
and that the provinces must have a vote in all 
decisions as to the future destinies of France. 
General Vinoy also has issued an order to the 
13th Corps d'Armee, declaring that if the peace 
of Paris is disturbed he will march at their head 
to put down disorders. 

November 5th. 
That Paris is prudent to seize upon the first 
loop-hole to get out of the position into which 
she has inconsiderately thrust herself is most 
certain. Never for a moment did I believe that 
the Parisians, indifferent to all but honor, would 
perish to the last man rather than give up one 
inch of territory, one stone of a fortress. He- 
roic constancy and endurance under misfortune 
are not improvised. A population enervated 
by twenty years of slavery, corruption, and lux- 
ury, is not likely to immolate itself for country, 
like the Spartans at Thermopylae. People who 
mean to die do not sign a preliminary round- 
robin to do so. Real fighting soldiers do not 
parade the streets behind half a dozen fantas- 
tically-dressed vivandieres. When in a town of 
2,000.000 inhabitants not above 12,000 can be 
found ready to submit to military discipline, and 
to go outside an inner line of fortifications, it is 
ridiculous to expect a defense like that of Sara- 
gossa. We are under the impression to-day 
that an armistice will be signed to-morrow. No 
one affects even to doubt that the word means 
peace. The bourgeoisie are heartily tired of 
playing at soldiers, the game has lost its novel- 
ty, and the nights are too cold to make an oc- 
casional picnic to the fortifications agreeable any 
longer. Besides, business is business, and pleas- 
ant as it may be to sit arrayed in uniform be- 
hind a counter, in the long-run customers are 
more remunerative, if not so glorious. The cry 
for peace is universal, the wealthy are lusting 
after the flesh-pots of Egypt, the hotel-keepers 
are eagerly waiting for the rush of sight-seers, 
and the shop-keepers are anxious to make up for 
lost time by plundering friend and foe. The 
soldiers, although Trochu is popular with them, 
have neither faith nor confidence in his general- 
ship. The Mobiles and peasants recently from 
their villages wish to go home, and openly tell 
the Parisians that they have no intention to re- 
main out in the cold any longer on salt beef, 
whilst the heroic citizens are sleeping quietly in 



Nov. 5th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



63 



their houses, or in barracks, and gorging them- 
selves with fresh provisions. As for the work- 
ing-men, they are spoiling for a fight in the 
streets, either with the Prussians, or, if that can 
not be, with any one else. They are, however, 
so thoroughly enjoying themselves, doing noth- 
ing, and getting paid for doing it, that they are in 
too good a temper to be mischievous. The new 
Prefect of the Police has arrested Felix Pyat and 
other leaders of the riot of last Monday. Flou- 
rens and the venerable Blanqui are only not in 
prison because they are in hiding. The mayors 
of the different arrondissements are being elect- 
ed to-day, but no one seems to trouble himself 
about the election. 

The vote of Thursday has somewhat surprised 
the bourgeoisie. That one-seventh of the pop- 
ulation should have registered their deliberate 
opinion that they prefer no Government to that 
under which they are living is by no means a 
reassuring fact, more particularly when this sev- 
enth consists of "men of action," armed with 
muskets and provided with ammunition. As 
long as the Line and the Mobiles remain here, 
Trochu will be able, if he only acts with firm- 
ness, to put down all tendencies to disorder; 
but were there to be a fight between the friends 
of the Government among the Garde Mobile 
and its opponents, I am not certain that the 
former would have the upper hand. As it is, 
the Hotel de Ville and the Louvre are guard- 
ed by Breton battalions of the Mobile, and Vi- 
noy has announced that if there is a disturbance 
he will at once march to the aid of the Govern- 
ment at the head of his division. Many com- 
plaints are made about the mode in which the 
vote was taken on Thursday ; some of them ap- 
pear to me to be just. The fact is, that French- 
men have not the most elementary notion of 
fair play in an election. No matter what body 
of men are in power, they conceive that they 
have a perfect right to use that power to obtain 
a verdict in their favor from their fellow-citi- 
zens. Tried by our electioneering code, every 
French election which I ever witnessed would 
be annulled on the ground of "intimidation" 
and " undue influence." 

Evening. 

No news yet about the armistice. I hear that 
it is doubtful whether it will be signed, but no 
doubt respecting it seems to disquiet the minds 
of the Parisians. I can not help thinking that 
they have got themselves again into a fool's par- 
adise. Their newspapers tell them that the 
Neutral Powers are forcing Prussia to be rea- 
sonable, and that Bismarck is struck with awe 
at the sight of our "heroic attitude." As for 
his not accepting any terms which we may put 
forward, the idea does not enter the mind of 
any one. I must say, however, that there is a 
vague feeling that perhaps we are not quite so 
very sublime as we imagine. Even to pay a 
war indemnity seems to be a concession which 
no one anticipated. For the first time since I 
have known the Parisians, they are out of con- 
ceit with themselves. " If Prussia forces us to 



make peace now, in five years we will crush her," 
is the somewhat vague threat with which many 
console themselves. Others say that on the 
conclusion of peace they will leave France ; but 
whether this is intended to punish France, Prus- 
sia, or themselves, I do not know. Others bold- 
ly assert that they are prevented from immola- 
ting themselves by the Neutral Powers. It is 
the old story of " hold me back, don't let me get 
at him." One thing, however, is certain, that 
the capture of Bazaine, the disaster at Bouvget, 
the row at the Hotel de Ville, the Prussian can- 
non on the heights of Meudon, and the oppor- 
tune arrival of Thiers, have made this popula- 
tion as peaceful to-day as they were warlike a 
few weeks ago. 

I really am sorry for these vain, silly, gulled 
humbugs among whom I am living. They have 
many amiable qualities, although, in trying to 
be Spartans, they have mistaken their vocation. 
They are, indeed, far too agreeable to be Spar- 
tans, who in private life must have been the 
most intolerable of bores. It is a sad confession 
of human weakness, but, as a rule, persons are 
not liked on account of their virtues. Exces- 
sively good people are — speaking socially — an- 
gular. Take, for instance, the Prussians ; they 
are saints compared with the French. They 
have every sort of excellence ; they are honest, 
sober, hard-working, well - instructed, brave, 
good sons, husbands, and fathers ; and yet all 
this is spoilt by one single fault — they are in- 
supportable. Laugh at the French, abuse them 
as one may, it is impossible to help liking them. 
Admire, respect the Prussians as one may, it is 
impossible to help disliking them . I will venture 
to say that it would be impossible to find 100 
Germans born south of the Main who would de- 
clare, on their honor, that they prefer a Prus- 
sian to a Frenchman,- The only Prussian I 
ever knew who was an agreeable man was Bis- 
marck. All others with whom I have been 
thrown — and I have lived for years in Germany 
— were proud as Scotchmen, cold as New Eng- 
enders, and touchy as only Prussians can be. 
I once had a friend among them. His name 
was Buckenbrock. Inadvertently I called him 
Butterbrod. We have never spoken since. A 
Prussian lieutenant is the most offensive speci- 
men of humanity that nature and pipe-clay have 
ever produced. Apart from all political con- 
siderations, the supremacy of this nation in Eu- 
rope will be a social calamity, unless France, 
like vanquished Greece, introduces the ameni- 
ties of society among these pedants, squires, and 
martinets. 

What, however, is to be done for the French ? 
Nothing, I am afraid. They have brought their 
troubles on their own heads ; and, to use an 
Americanism, they must face the music. Even 
at this late moment they fail to realize the fact 
that they ever will be called upon to endure any 
real hardships, or that their town ever really will 
be bombarded. I was watching the crowd on 
the Boulevards this afternoon. It was dispirit- 
ed because it had for twenty-four hours set its 



64 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Nov. 6th. 



heart upon peace, and was disappointed, like a 
child who can not get the toy it wants ; but I 
will venture to say, not one person in his heart 
of hearts really imagined that perhaps within a 
week he might be blown up by a bomb. They 
either will not or can not believe that any thing 
will happen which they do not desire. Facts 
of this kind must be palpably brought home to 
them before they will even imagine that they 
are possible. 

The army has been reorganized by that arch 
organizer Trochu. According to this new plan, 
the whole armed force is divided into three ar- 
mies. The first comprises the National Guards ; 
the second, under General Ducrot, is what may 
be called the active army ; it consists of three 
corps, commanded respectively by Generals Vi- 
noy, d'Exea, and Renault. The third comprises 
all the troops in the forts, in the cottages ad- 
jacent to the forts, which have to be occupied 
for their defense, and the fourth commanded by 
Trochu. The second army will have four can- 
non to each thousand men, and will be used to 
effect a sortie, if possible. This new arrange- 
ment is not well received by military men. 
Both among soldiers and officers, General Vinoy 
is far more popular than any other general ; he 
is a sort of French Lord Clyde. Until now he 
had a co-ordinate command with Ducrot. That 
he should be called upon to serve under him is 
regarded as an injustice, more particularly be- 
cause Ducrot is an intimate personal friend of 
Trochu. Ducrot and Trochu believe in them- 
selves, and believe in each other; but no one 
else believes in them. They certainly have not 
yet given the slightest evidence of military ca- 
pacity, except by criticising what has been done 
by others. Now, at last, however, Trochu will 
have an opportunity to carry out his famous 
plan, by which he asserts that he will raise the 
blockade in fourteen days, and of which he has 
given the fullest details in his will. Ridicule 
kills in France — and since this eminent Gener- 
al, as an evidence that he had a plan, appealed 
to the will which he had deposited with his law- 
yer, he lost all influence. I need not say that 
this influence has not been restored by the ab- 
surd arrest to which he was subjected by Messrs. 
Flourens and Blanqui. 

November 6th. 
So we have declined the armistice. The 
Government deliberated exactly five minutes 
over the question. The Journal Officiel says : 
— "Prussia expressly refused to entertain the 
question of revictualment, and only admitted 
under certain reserves the vote of Alsace and 
Lorraine." No further details are given. An 
opportunity has been lost which may never re- 
cur. Public opinion was disposed to accept a 
cessation of the siege on almost any terms. 
General Trochu, however, and his colleagues 
had not the civic courage to attach their names 
to a document which would afterwards have been 
cast in their teeth. A friend of mine, a military 
man, saw Trochu late last night. He strongly 
urged him to accept the armistice, but in vain. 



" What do you expect will occur ? You must 
know that the position is hopeless," said my 
friend. " I will not sign a capitulation," was 
all he could get from Trochu. This worthy 
man is as obstinate as only weak men can be : 
his colleagues, as self-seeking as only French 
politicians can be. The news that the armis- 
tice had been rejected, fell like a thunder-clap 
upon the population. I never remember to 
have witnessed a day of such general gloom 
since the commencement of the siege. The 
feeling of despair is, I hear, still stronger in the 
army. Were the real condition of things out- 
side known, I am certain that the Government 
would be forced to conclude an armistice on no 
matter what terms. I happened to come across 
to-^day a file of English newspapers up to the 
22d ult., and I fully realized how all intelligence 
from without has been distorted by the Govern- 
ment to serve its own purposes. Now a few 
days ago, these very papers had been lent to 
Trochu. He read them, kept them two days to 
show some of his colleagues, and then returned 
them. One single extract was published by the 
Journal Officiel — a German report upon the de- 
fenses of Paris. No man in the House of Com- 
mons is more fond of special pleading than Sir 
Roundell Palmer. When any one complains of 
it, the reply is, that he teaches some children 
their catechism on Sundays. Now, when any 
one ventures to question the veracity of Trochu, 
one is told that he has adopted his brother's 
children. 

According to measurements which have been 
made, the Prussian batteries at Sevres and Meu- 
don will carry to the Champ de Mars. From 
Montretout their guns would throw shells into 
the Champs Elysees; but we think that Vale'- 
rien will silence them as soon as they open. 
Meat is getting more and more scarce every day. 
That great moralist, Dr. Johnson, said that he 
should prefer to dine with a Duke than the 
most agreeable of Commoners. I myself at 
present should prefer to dine with a leg of mut- 
ton than the most agreeable of human beings 
• — Duke or Commoner. I hear, on what I be- 
lieve to be good authority, that we shall see the 
end of our fresh meat on or about the 20th of 
this month. 

Yesterday all the hidden stores which had 
been hoarded up with an eye to a great profit 
were thrown on the market. To-day they have 
again disappeared. Lamb is, however, freely 
offered for sale, and curiously enough, at the 
same time, live dogs are becoming scarce. 

Several Ultras have been elected mayors of 
the different arrondissements ; among them 
Citizen Mottu, who was turned out of his may- 
orship about a fortnight ago because he refused 
to allow any child to attend a place of worship 
except with his own consent. It is all very well 
for M. Jules Favre to say that the election of 
mayors is a negation of a Commune. As I un- 
derstand it, a Commune is but a council of 
elected mayors. If the Government loses its 
popularity, the new mayors will become a Com- 



Nov. 8th.] THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 65 

Diane. The more, however, the majority desire On the one hand, to send to Versailles to receive 
peace, the less likely will they be to throw them- 



selves into the arms of Citizen Mottu and his 
friends, who are all for war a outrance. 

Monday, November 1th. 
The newspapers of to-day, with the exception 



an answer took forty-eight hours ; on the other, 
from the fact that England had not recognized 
the Republic, General Trochu could not be ap- 
proached officially. Colonel Claremont hap- 
pens to be a personal friend of his, and it is 



of the Ultra organs, are loud in their expressions ' thanks to his exertions, coupled with those of 
of regret that the armistice had not been agreed I Mr. Washburne, that the matter has at length 



to. The Government gives no further details, 
but yesterday afternoon M. Jules Favre inform- 
ed several members of the press who "inter- 
viewed " him, that Prussia refused to allow the 
introduction of provisions into Paris during the 
duration of the armistice. I have long ceased 
believing any assertion of a member of the 
French Government, unless supported by inde- 
pendent evidence. But if this be really true, I 
must say that Count Bismarck has been playing 
a game with the Neutral Powers, for it can hard- 
ly be expected that Paris would consent to sus- 
pend all military operations against the Prus- 
sians, whilst their process of reducing the town 
by starvation was uninterrupted. Besides, as 
such a condition would have amounted practi- 
cally to a capitulation, it would have been more 
frank on the part of Count Bismarck to have 
submitted the question in that form. I antici- 
pate very shortly a sortie in force. An at- 
tempt will be made with the Second Army to 
pierce the Prussian lines. There appears no 
reason to doubt that it will fail, and then the 
cry for peace will become so strong that the 
Government will be obliged to listen seriously 
to it. 

General Trochu's new organization is severe- 
ly criticised. I hear from military men that he 
elaborated it himself with his personal friends. 
So secret was it kept, that the Minister of War 
knew nothing about it until it appeared in the 
Journal Official yesterday. After the scene of 
last Monday, General Vinoy reproached Trochu 
for having tamely submitted to arrest and in- 
sult by a mob for several hours, and strongly 
hinted that a French general owed it to his 
cloth not to allow his decorations to be torn from 
his heart. It is said by General Vinoy's friends 
that those observations are mainly the cause why 
he has been deprived of his independent com- 
mand, and placed under the orders of General 
Ducrot, with respect to whose evasion from Se- 
dan many French officers shake their heads. 

I can not help thinking that the result of the 
vote of the army on Thursday last is only rela- 
tively correct. Line, Mobile, and Marines do 
not amount to 250,000 men, unless I am very 
much mistaken. The Second Army, under 
Ducrot, will number about 110,000 men. 

The English at last are about to leave. They 
are very indignant at having been, as they say, 
humbugged so long, and loud in their com- 
plaints against their Embassy. I do not think, 
however, that the delay has been the fault either 
of Colonel Claremont or of Mr. Wodehouse. 
These gentlemen have done their best, but they 
were unable to get the Prussian and French au- 
thorities to agree upon a day for the exodus. 



been satisfactorily arranged. I need hardly ob- 
serve that the Foreign-office has done its best to 
render the question more complicated. It has 
sent orders to Mr. Wodehouse to provide for the 
transport of British subjects, without sending 
funds, and having told Lord Lyons to take the 
archives with him, it perpetually refers to in- 
structions contained in dispatches which it well 
knows are at Tours. 

Mr. Washburne remains. He has done his 
best to induce the Government to agree to an 
armistice, and has clearly told them that they 
ought not to sacrifice Paris without a prospect 
of a successful issue. He is in despair at their 
decision, and anticipates the worst. In the in- 
terests of humanity it is greatly to be regretted 
that Lord Lyons should have received orders to 
quit Paris. The personal consideration in which 
he was held, and the great influence which it 
gave him, would have been invaluable during 
the negotiations of the last few days. 

November Stk. 

I was once in love. The object of my af- 
fections had many amiable qualities. I re- 
member I thought her an angel ; but when she 
was crossed, she used to go up into her room 
and say that she would remain there without 
eating until I yielded the point at issue between 
us. As I was invariably right and she w r as in- 
variably wrong, I could not do this ; but, pity- 
ing the weakness of her sex, and knowing its 
obstinacy, I usually managed to arrange matters 
in a way which allowed her to emerge from her 
retreat without any great sacrifice of amour pro- 
pre. The Parisians remind me of this sen- 
timental episode of my existence ; they have 
mounted a high pedestal, and called upon the 
world to witness that, no matter what may be 
the danger to which they are exposed, they will 
not get off it, unless they obtain what they want ; 
that they will obtain it, they find is most improb- 
able, and they are anxiously looking around for 
some one to help them down, without being 
obliged absolutely " to swallow their own words." 
They had hoped that the armistice which was 
proposed by the neutrals would in some way get 
them out of their difficulty; and, as the siege 
still continues, they are exceedingly indignant 
with their kind friends. "They have," say the 
papers, " loosened one mainspring of sacrifice. 
If we had fully determined to perish rather than 
yield, if we do not, it will be the fault of Russia, 
Austria, and England." Be the cause what it 
may, the "mainspring of sacrifice" most as- 
suredly is not only loosened, but it has run 
down, and, unless some wonderful success oc- 
curs shortly, it will never be wound up again. 
As long as it could be supposed that cannon 



6Q 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Nov. 8th. 



and musketry would only do their bloody work 
outside the exterior forts, and that Paris might 
glory in a "heroic attitude" without suffering 
real hardships or incurring real danger, the note 
of defiance was loud and bold. As it is, the 
Government is obliged to do its utmost to keep 
their courage up to the sticking-point. These 
foolish people really imagined that, like them, 
the world regarded their city as a species of sa- 
cred Jerusalem, and that public opinion would 
never allow the Prussians either to bombard it, 
or to expose the high-priests of civilization who 
inhabit it to the realities of war. It is neces- 
sary to live here to understand the strength of 
this feeling. In England, little attention is paid 
to the utterances of French newspapers, but the 
Parisians, more profoundly ignorant of foreign 
politics than the charity-school boys of an Eng- 
lish village, were under the flattering delusion 
that we, in common with every other nation, 
lived alone to merit their favorable opinion. 
They find now, to their profound astonishment, 
that beyond a barren sympathy, founded upon 
a common humanity, no one regards Paris as 
different to any other great city, and that if they 
choose to convert it into an intrenched camp for 
their armies, they must meet the consequences. 
Either they must accept the victor's terms of 
peace or they must fight the Prussians. The 
reality of the situation is by degrees coming 
home to them. From the general tone of the 
conversations I hear, I am inclined to think that, 
in their hearts, they admit that Alsace, if not 
Lorraine, is irretrievably lost. Words have a 
great influence over them, and they find conso- 
lation for this loss of territory in the phrase that 
Alsace will annex a portion of Germany, and not 
be annexed to Germany. It is admitted also 
that sooner or later an indemnity must be paid 
in money to Prussia. The newspapers, who 
were the loudest in their praises of M. Jules 
Favre's language at Ferrieres, now complain that 
nothing is to be gained by bombast, and that 
it is ridiculous of him to talk about "France" 
proposing "conditions of peace " which must be 
unacceptable to Prussia. The main grounds 
for continued resistance are, the personal ambi- 
tion of the members of the Government, who 
well know that if they sign an armistice, which 
is tantamount to peace, they will hereafter be 
made scape-goats, and be told that the Parisians 
were balked of their desire to perish to the last 
man ; the mulish obstinacy of Trochu; and the 
dread of the capital losing its supremacy over 
the Provinces. Of course, there are some who 
wish to fight on to the bitter end. The "Ul- 
tras" hope to found on a war a outrance a dem- 
ocratic republic, and dream of the success of the 
First Revolution. The politicians hardly know 
what they want. Their main idea is to keep up 
for their own purposes that centralization which 
has so long been the bane of this country. If 
they agree to terms before Paris has given France 
an example of heroism, they fear that her su- 
premacy will be compromised ; if they allow 
the insulation to continue, they fear that the 



! Provinces will accustom themselves to independ- 
| ent action ; if a Constituent Assembly be elect- 
ed whilst free communication between Paris 
I and the rest of France is interrupted, they fear 
that this Assembly will consist of local candi- 
dates rather than those, as has heretofore been 
the case in all French Legislative Chambers, 
who are imposed upon the departments by a 
central organization in the capital. 

The position of the Government is a singu- 
lar one. They obtained last Thursday a large 
majority on their plebiscite, because it was fully 
understood that "oui" meant peace ; indeed, 
on many bulletins, the words "and peace" 
were added to the "oui." They have impris- 
oned the leaders of those who revolted to the 
cry of " no armistice !" Their friends the bour- 
geois trusted to them to put off the municipal 
elections until after the war, and they rallied to 
their defense to the cry of "no Commune!" 
In each arrondissement ?. mayor and two ad- 
juncts have been elected, and these mayors and 
adjuncts have only to meet together in order to 
assume that right to interfere in public affairs 
which converts a municipality into a commune. 
In Belleville the elected mayor is a prisoner, 
and his two adjuncts, Flourens and Milliere, are 
in hiding. In the nineteenth arrondissement 
M. Delescluze, by far the most able of the Ul- 
tras, is mayor. Contrary to the wishes, conse- 
quently, of their adherents, we are to have no 
armistice, and we probably shall have a com- 
mune. The Ultras are persecuted, but their 
programme is adopted. 

There appears to be a tacit truce between all 
parties within the city until Trochu has made , 
some attempt to carry out his famous plan. For 
the last fortnight the Government has not pub- 
lished any news which it may have received 
from the Provinces. M. Thiers has either made 
no report upon their condition, or it has been 
concealed. M. Jules Favre, in his dispatch to 
the envoys abroad, enters into no details, and 
confines himself to the simple announcement 
that the armistice was not concluded because 
Count Bismarck would not allow Paris to be re- 
victualled during the twenty-five days which it 
was to last. Our anxiety for news respecting 
what is passing outside has to be satisfied with 
the following words, which fell from the lips of 
M. Thiers : "I have seen the Army of the Loire 
and the Prussian Guard ; man to man I prefer 
the former." The Debats and some other jour- 
nals contain extracts from the English newspa- 
pers up to the 22d ult. I observe that every 
thing which tells against France is suppressed, 
and what is published is headed with a notice, 
that as the source is English the truth is ques- 
tionable. Thus does the press, while abusing 
the Government for keeping back intelligence, 
fulfill its mission. 

The plan for the redistribution of the troops, 

and their change from one corps to another, 

I which was announced* on Sunday in a decree 

j signed Trochu, has not yet been carried out. 

J Its only effect has been as yet to render confu* 



Nov. Otii.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



G7 



sion twice confounded. Its real object, I hear, 
was to place General Ducrot in command of 
the left bank of the Seine, instead of General 
Vinov, because it is expected that the fighting 
will be on that side of the river. So indignant 
is General Vinoy at being placed under the 
orders of General Ducrot, that he threatens to 
give in his resignation, on the ground that by 
military law no officer can be called to serve un- 
der a general who has capitulated, and who has 
not been tried before a court-martial. The 
dispute will, I imagine, in some way or other, 
be arranged, without its coming before the pub- 
lic. General Vinoy's retirement would produce 
a bad effect on the army ; for, both with officers 
and men, he is far more popular thsjw either 
Ducrot or Trochu. He passes as a fighting 
general ; they pass as writing generals. As for 
Trochu, to write and to talk is with him a per- 
fect mania. "I have seen him on business," 
said a superior officer to me, "a dozen times, 
but I never have been able to explain what I 
came for ; he talked so incessantly that I could 
not put in a word." 

I was out this morning along the Southern 
outposts; the forts were firing intermittently. 
At Cachau there was a sharp interchange of 
shots going on between the Prussian sentinels 
and Mobiles. It is a perfect mystery to me 
how the Prussians have been allowed to establish 
themselves at Clamart and at Chatillon, which 
are within range of the guns of these forts. Our 
famous artillerists do not appear to have pre- 
vented them from establishing batteries exactly 
where they are most dangerous to us. General 
Trochu has not confided to me his celebrated 
plan, but I am inclined to think that, whatever 
it may have been, he will do well to put it aside, 
and to endeavor to dislodge the enemy in Cha- 
tillon and the adjacent villages, before their bat- 
teries open fire. I suggested this to an officer, 
and he replied that the troops, thanks to the 
decree of Sunday, hardly knew who command- 
ed them, or where they were to be stationed — 
"On paper," he added, "I and my battalion 
are at La Malmaison." As for the sortie, which 
is to revictual Paris by forcing the Prussian 
lines, it is simply absurd to talk of it. If Trochu 
attempts it, the result must be disastrous, and, 
coute qui coute, the political exigencies of the 
situation render it absolutely necessary that at 
least apparent success must crown our next en- 
counter with the enemy. The next thing would 
be to hold our own, as long as the provisions 
last, and trust to the chapter of accidents ; but 
this is impossible in the present temper of both 
soldiers and citizens. General Trochu has in- 
sisted so loudly that, if not interfered with, he 
would not only keep the enemy out of Paris, 
but raise the siege — that he must do something 
to redeem his pledge. 

We have almost forgotten our troubles, in 
hearing that King William, "to recompense his 
soldiers and reward their valor," has made his 
son and his nephew Field-marshals. We wish 
to know whether, if they take Paris, he will re- 



ward them, by declaring himself infallible, and 
giving "our Fritz" a few million francs. 
With fear and trembling we ask whether the 
success of the Bavarians will be recognized by 
their monarch being allowed to infiic^^i us 
the operas of his friend Wagner. ^F 

A new industry has sprung up in Paris. 
A manufactory has been discovered, in which 
Prussian casques and sabres were being made. 
It was at first thought that the owner was en- 
gaged in a dark conspiracy, but, upon being ar- 
rested, he confessed that he was endeavoring to 
meet the demand for trophies from the fields of 
battle. In one room of the house of this in- 
genious speculator, a large number of forged 
letters were found, from mothers, sisters, and 
brides, to their relations in the army before 
Paris : these, he explained, were to be sold, 
warranted from the pocket of a German corpse. 

Has Gambetta contracted with a London 
firm for a loan of 250 millions at 42? The 
financial world here is in a state of the greatest 
agitation about a statement to this effect, which 
has been discovered in an English newspaper. 
The Government officially declare that it knows 
nothing about the matter. It is a curious sign 
of the universal belief of any one in official ut- 
terances, that this denial is regarded as very 
questionable evidence against the loan having 
been made. What puzzles us is, that the 
Trente is at 53— why then was this new loan 
issued at 42 ? An attempt has been made to 
oblige those persons left in charge of houses oc- 
cupied by foreigners here to pay the tax upon 
absents. An energetic protest, however, of Mr. 
Washburne has saved Americans from this ex- 
tortion. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Wednesday, Xovember 9th, 
I bought a dozen newspapers this morning. 
Every one of them, with the exception of the 
Gaulois, in more or less covert language, insists 
upon peace upon any terms. Our "main- 
spring" not only has run down, but is broken. 
The complaints, too, against the Government 
for concealing all news it has received from the 
provinces, and for giving no details respecting 
the negotiations with respect to the armistice, 
are most outspoken. M. Edmond About, in 
the Soir of last night, insists that we ought to 
have agreed to the armistice, even without a re- 
victualment ; and such appears to be the opin- 
ion of almost every one. Poor M. Jules Favre, 
who a few weeks ago was lauded to the skies for 
having so nobly expressed the ideas of his coun- 
trymen, when he said that rather than yield one 
foot of territory, one stone of a fortress, they 
would all perish, is now abused for having com- 
promised the situation, and made it difficult to 
treat, by his mania for oratorical clap-trap. In 
the Figaro, Villemessant blunders through three 
columns over being again disappointed in his 
expectations of embracing his wife, and plaint-, 
ively tells "William" that though he may not 



68 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Nov. 14th. 



be anxious to see "his Augusta," this is no 
reason why he, Villemessant, should not be ab- 
solutely wild to see Madame. A more utter 
and complete collapse of all " heroism" I never 
did witness. 

General Trochu has, with his usual intelli- 
gence, seized this moment to issue a decree, 
mobilizing 400 men from each battalion of the 
National Guard. First, volunteers ; secondly, 
unmarried men, between 25 and 35 years; 
thirdly, unmarried men, between 35 and 45 ; 
fourthly, married men between 25 and 35; 
fifthly, married men, between 35 and 45, are 
successively to be called upon to fill up the 
contingent. The Vinoy affair has been settled 
by the appointment of the General to the com- 
mand of the Third Army. The following sta- 
tistics of the annual consumption of meat by 
Paris will give some idea of the difficulty of re- 
yictualling it:— oxen, 156,680; bulls, 66,028; 
cows, 31,095; calves, 120,275; sheep, 916,388. 
Meat is now distributed every three days. I 
hear that on the present scale of rationing there 
is enough for five more distributions. We shall 
then fall back on horses and our own salt pro- 
visions ; the former will perhaps last for a week, 
as for the latter it is impossible to give any ac- 
curate estimate. We have, however, practically 
unlimited supplies of flour, wine, and coffee ; if, 
consequently, the Parisians are ready to content 
themselves with what is absolutely necessary to 
support existence, the process of starving us out 
will be a lengthy one. 

November lith. 

" Wanted, 10,000 Parisians ready to allow 
themselves to be killed, in order that their fel- 
low-citizens may pass down to posterity as he- 
roes!" The attempt to obtain volunteers hav- 
ing miserably failed, and fathers of families hav- 
ing declined to risk their valuable lives while 
one single bachelor remains out of reach of the 
Prussian guns, the Government has now issued 
a decree calling to arms all bachelors between 
the age of 25 and 35. It this measure had 
been taken two months ago it might have been 
of some use, but it is absurd to suppose that 
soldiers can be improvised in a few days. I 
must congratulate my friends here upon the as- 
tounding ingenuity -which they show in discov- 
ering pretexts to avoid military service. It is 
as difficult to get them outside the inner ram- 
parts as it is to make an old fox break cover. 
In vain huntsman Trochu and his first whip, 
Ducrot, blow their horns, and crack their whips ; 
the wily Reynard, after putting his nose outside 
his retreat, heads back, and makes for inacces- 
sible fastnesses, with which long habit has made 
him familiar. That General Trochu will be 
able to beat the Prussians no one supposes; 
but if he can manage to get even 5000 of the 
heroes who have for the last two months been 
professing a wish to die for the honor of their 
country under fire, he will have accomplished a 
most difficult feat. 

For the last few days the newspapers, one and 
all, have been filled with details of the negotia- 



tions which were supposed to be going on at 
Versailles. Russia, it was said, had forwarded 
an ultimatum to the King of Prussia, threaten- 
ing him with a declaration of war in case he 
persisted in besieging Paris, or in annexing any 
portion of French territory. Yesterday morn- 
ing the Jom-nal Officiel contained an announce- 
ment that the Government knew absolutely 
nothing of these negotiations. The newspa- 
pers are, however, not disposed to allow their 
hopes of peace to be destroyed in this manner, 
and they reply that "it being notorious that no 
j member of the Government can speak the truth, 
I their official denial proves conclusively the con- 
trary of what it states." It is indeed difficult 
to know who or what to believe ; all I know for 
certain is, that M. Jules Favre assured Mr. 
Washburne on Saturday night that since M. 
Thiers had quitted Paris he had had no com- 
munication with the outer world, and did not 
even know whether the Tours delegation was 
still there. Men may lie for a certain time, 
and yet be believed, but this " arm of war" has 
been so abused by our rulers, that at present 
their most solemn asseverations meet with uni- 
versal incredulity — not, indeed, that the Paris- 
ians are cured of their mania for crediting every 
tale which comes to them from any other source 
— thus, for instance, every newspaper has con- 
tained the most precise details from eye-wit- 
nesses of a conflict which took place two nights 
ago before the battery of Hautes-Bruyeres, in 
which our "brave Mobiles" took between two 
and three thousand prisoners, and slew heca- 
tombs of the enemy. Now, I was both yester- 
day and the day before yesterday at the Hautes- 
Bruyeres, and I can certify myself that this pre- 
tended battle never took place. 

It is impossible to predict what will occur 
during the next fortnight. Felix qui potuit re- 
rum cognoscere causas. General Trochu has this 
morning issued a lengthy address to the inhab- 
itants of the city, informing them that, had it 
not been for their riotous conduct on Oct. 31, 
the armistice would have been concluded ; and 
that now all that remains for them to do, is to 
"close their ranks and to elevate their hearts." 
"If we triumph, we shall have given our coun- 
try a great example ; if we succumb, we shall 
have left to Prussia an inheritance which will 
replace the First Empire in the sanguinary an- 
nals of conquest and violence ; an inheritance 
of hatred and maledictions which will eventu- 
ally prove her ruin." The great question which 
occupies all minds now is "the sortie." Gen- 
eral Trochu and General Ducrot insist upon at 
least making an attempt to pierce the Prussian 
lines. All the other generals say that, as it can 
not succeed, it is wrong to sacrifice life to no 
good purpose. This is how the matter is re- 
garded by officers and soldiers. As for the Na- 
tional Guard, they distinctly say that they will 
be no parties to any such act of folly. Even in 
the councils of the Government there is a strong 
feeling against it ; but General Trochu declines 
to allow the question, which he says is a purely 



Nov. 15th.] 

military one, to be decided by the lawyers who 
are his colleagues. They, on their side, com- 
plain that the General never quits the Louvre, 
lias surrounded himself with a number of cleri- 
cal dandies as his aids-de-camp, whose religious 
principles may be sound, but whose knowledge 
of war is nil ; and that if he wished to make a 
sortie he should not have waited until the Prus- 
sians had rendered its success impossible by com- 
pleting their lines of investment. It is said that 
the attempt will be made along the post-road to 
Orleans, it being now considered impossible, as 
was at first intended, to open communications 
by the Havre railroad. The general impression 
is either that the troops engaged in it will be 
driven back under the forts in confusion, or that 
some 50,000 will be allowed to get too far to re- 
turn, and then will be netted like sparrows. It 
is not, however, beyond the bounds of possibility 
that the Prussians will not wait until our great 
administrator has completed his preparations for 
attack, but will be beforehand with him, and open 
fire upon the southern posts from their batteries, 
which many think would effectually reduce to 
silence the guns of Vanves, Issy, and of the ad- 
vanced redoubts. 

These Prussian batteries are viewed with a 
mysterious awe. We fire on them, we walk 
about within less than a mile of them, and they 
maintain an ominous silence. On the heights 
of Chatillon it is said at the advanced posts 
that there are 108 siege-guns in position ; some 
of them we can actually distinguish without a 
glass, and yet not a shot comes from them. 
Yesterday the gates of the Bois de Boulogne 
were opened, and a crowd of several thousand 
persons walked and drove round the lake. 
Over their heads one of the bastions was throw- 
ing shells into Montretout, but it seemed to oc- 
cur to no one that Montretout might return the 
compliment, and throw a few shells, not over 
their heads, but into their midst. One of the 
most curious phases in this remarkable siege is, 
that the women seem to consider the whole 
question a political one, which in no way re- 
gards them — they neither urge the men to re- 
sist, nor clamor for peace. Tros Tyriusque 
seems much the same to them ; a few hundreds 
have dressed themselves up as vivandieres, the 
others appear to regret the rise in the price of 
provisions, but to trouble their heads about 
nothing else. If they thought that the cession 
of Alsace and Lorraine would reduce the price 
of butchers' meat, they would in a sort of apa- 
thetic way, be in favor of the cession ; but they 
are so utterly ignorant of every thing except 
matters connected with their toilettes and M. 
Paul de Kock's novels, that they confine them- 
selves to shrugging their shoulders and hoping 
for the best, and they support all the privations 
to which they are exposed owing to the siege 
without complaint and without enthusiasm. 
The word armistice being beyond the range 
of their vocabulary, they call it "l'aministie," 
and imagine that the question is whether or 
not King William is ready to grant Paris an 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



VJ 



amnesty. As JEneas and Dido took refuge in 
a cave to avoid a shower, so I for the same rea- 
son found myself with a young lady this morn- 
ing under a porte cochere. Dido was a lively 
and intelligent young person, but I discovered 
in the course of our chance conversation that 
she was under the impression that the Russians 
as well as the Prussians were outside Paris, and 
that both were waging war for the King of 
Spain. Sedan, I also learnt, was in the neigh- 
borhood of Berlin. 

The Temps gives the following details of 
our provisions : — Beef will fail in a week, horse 
will then last a fortnight ; salt meat a further 
week; vegetables, dried fruits, flour, etc., about 
three weeks more. In this calculation I think 
that the stock of flour is understated, and that 
if we are contented to live on bread and wine 
we shall not be starved out until the middle of 
January. The ration of fresh meat is now re- 
duced in almost all the arrondissements to thir- 
ty grammes a head. There is no difficulty, 
however, in obtaining for money any quantity 
of it in the restaurants. In the bouillons only 
one portion is served to each customer. Cats 
have risen in the market — a good fat one now 
costs twenty francs. Those that remain are 
exceedingly wild. This morning I had a sal- 
mis of rats — it was excellent — something be- 
tween frog and rabbit. I breakfasted with the 
correspondents of two of your contemporaries. 
One of them, after a certain amount of hesita- 
tion, allowed me to help him to a leg of a rat ; 
after eating it he was as anxious as a terrier for 
more. The latter, however, scornfully refused 
to share in the repast. As he got through his 
portion of salted horse, which rejoiced in the 
name of beef, he regarded us with horror and 
disgust. I remember when I was in Egypt that 
my feelings towards the natives were of a some- 
what similar nature when I saw them eating 
rat. The older one grows the more tolerant 
one becomes. If ever I am again in Africa I 
shall eat the national dish whenever I get a 
chance. During the siege of Londonderry rats 
sold for 7s. each, and if this siege goes on many 
weeks longer, the utmost which a person of 
moderate means will be able to allow himself 
will be an occasional mouse. I was curious to 
see whether the proprietor of the restaurant 
would boldly call rat rat, in my bill. His heart 
failed him — it figures as a salmi of game. 

November 15th. 

We have passed from the lowest depths of 
despair to the wildest confidence. Yesterday 
afternoon a pigeon arrived covered with blood, 
bearing on its tail a dispatch from Gambetta, 
of the 11th, announcing that the Prussians had 
been driven out of Orleans after two days' fight- 
ing, that 1000 prisoners, two cannon, and many 
munition-wagons had been taken, and that the 
pursuit was still continuing. The dispatch was 
read at the Mairies to large crowds, and in the 
cafes by enthusiasts, who got upon the tables. 
I was in a shop when a person came in with it. 
Shop-keeper, assistants, and customers immedi- 



r 



ro 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Nov. 15th. 



ately performed a war-dance round a stove ; one 
would have supposed that the war was over, and 
that the veracity of Gambetta is unimpeachable. 
But as though this success were not enough in 
itself, all the newspapers this morning tell us 
that " Chartres has also been retaken," that the 
army of Ke'ratry has effected a junction with 
that of the Loire, and that in the North Bour- 
baki has forced the Prussians to raise the siege 
of Amiens. Every one is asking when " they " 
will be here. Edmond About, in the Soir, eats 
dirt for having a few days ago suggested an ar- 
mistice. 

At the Quartier-General I do not think that 
very great importance is attached to Gambetta's 
dispatch, except as an evidence that the provin- 
ces are not perfectly apathetic. It is consider- 
ed that very possibly the Prussians may have 
concentrated their whole available force round 
Paris, in order to crush our grand sortie when 
it takes place. General Trochu himself takes 
the most despondent view of the situation, and 
bitterly complains of the " spirit " of the army, 
the Mobiles, and the Parisians. This extraor- 
dinary commander imagines that he will infuse 
a new courage in his troops by going about 
like a monk of La Trappe, saying to every one, 
"Brother, we must die." 

Mr. Washburne received yesterday a dispatch 
from his Government — the first which has reach- 
ed him since the commencement of the siege — 
informing him that his conduct in remaining at 
Paris is approved of. With the dispatch there 
came English newspapers up to the 3d. Ex- 
tracts from them will, I presume, be published 
to-morrow. I passed the afternoon greedily de- 
vouring the news at the American Legation. 
It was a curious sight — the Chancellerie was 
crowded with people engaged in the same occu- 
pation. There were several French journalists, 
opening their eyes very wide, under the impres- 
sion that this would enable them to understand 
English. A Secretary of Legation was sitting 
at a table giving audiences to unnumbered la- 
dies who wished to know how they could leave 
Paris ; or, if this was impossible, how they could 
draw on their bankers in New York. Mr. 
Washburne walked about cheerily shaking ev- 
ery one by the hand, and telling them to make 
themselves at home. How different American 
diplomatists are to the prim old women who 
represent us abroad, with a staff of half a dozen 
dandies helping each other to do nothing, who 
have been taught to regard all who are not of 
the craft as their natural enemies. At the Eng- 
lish Embassy Colonel Claremont and a porter 
now represent the British nation. The former, 
in obedience to orders from the Foreign Office, 
is only waiting for a reply from Count Bis- 
marck to his letter asking for a pass to leave 
us. Whether the numerous English who re- 
main here are then to look to Mr. Washburne 
or to the porter for protection I have been una- 
ble to discover. 

M. Felix Pyat has been let out of prison. 
He says that he rather prefers being there than 



at liberty, for in his cell he can " forget that he 
is in a town inhabited by cowards,*' and devote 
himself to the works of M. Louis Blanc, which 
he calls the "Bibles of democracy." 

Although Trochu is neither a great general 
nor a great statesman, he is a gentleman. I 
am therefore surprised that he allows obscene 
caricatures of the Empress to be publicly sold 
in the streets and exhibited in the kiosks. 
During the time that she occupied the throne 
in this most scandal-loving town, no scandal 
was ever whispered against her. She was fond, 
it is true, of dress, but she was a good mother 
and a good wife. Now that she and her friends 
are in exile, "lives of the woman Bonaparte" 
are hawked about which in England would 
bring their authors under Lord Campbell's stat- 
ute. In one caricature she is represented stark 
naked, with Prince Joinville .sketching her. In 
another, called " the Spanish cow," she is made 
a sort of female Centaur. In another she is 
dancing the Can-can, and throwing her petti- 
coats over her head, before King William, who 
is drinking Champagne, seated on a sofa, while 
her husband is in a cage hung up to the wall. 
These scandalous caricatures have not even the 
merit of being funny, they are a reflection upon 
French chivalry, and on that of Trochu. What 
would he say if the Government which succeeds 
him were to allow his own wife to be insulted in 
this cowardly manner? 

Any thing more dreary than the Boulevards 
now in the evening it is difficult to imagine. 
Only one street lamp in three is lighted, and 
the cafe's, which close at 10 30, are put on half- 
allowance of gas. To mend matters, every one 
who likes is allowed to put up a shed on the 
sidewalk to sell his goods, or to collect a crowd 
by playing a dirge on a fiddle. The conse- 
quence is that the circulation is rendered al- 
most impossible. I suggested to a high au- 
thority that the police ought at least to inter- 
fere to make these peripatetic musicians "move 
on," but he told me that, were they to do so, 
they would be accused of being "Corsicans and 
Reactionaries." These police are themselves 
most ludicrous objects ; any one coming here 
would suppose that they are members of some 
new sect of peripatetic philosophers ; they walk 
about in pairs, arrayed in pea-jackets with large 
hoods ; and when it is wet they have umbrellas. 
Their business appears to be never to interfere 
with the rights of their fellow-citizens to do 
what they please, and so helpless do they look 
that I believe if a child were to attack them 
they would appeal to the passers-by for protec- 
tion. 

I see in an English paper of the 3d that it is 
believed at Versailles that we have only fresh 
meat for twelve days. We are not so badly 
off as that. How many oxen and cows there 
still are I do not know ; a few days ago, how- 
ever, I counted myself 1500 in a large pen. 
The newspapers calculate that at the com- 
mencement of the siege there were 100,000 
horses in Paris, and that there are now 70,000 j 



Nov. 10th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



71 



30,000 will be enough, for the army, conse- ] best is the American. The wounded are under 
quently 40,000 can be eaten. The amount of ; canvas, the tents are not cold, and yet the ven- 
meat on each horse averages 500 lbs., conse- tilation is admirable. The American surgeons 
quently we have twenty million pounds of fresh are far more skillful in the treatment of gun- 
horse-flesh — a quantity which will last us for , shot wounds than their French colleagues. In- 
more than three months at the present rate of ; stead of amputation they practise resection of 
the meat consumption. These figures are, I the bone. It is the dream of every French sol- 
think, very much exaggerated. I should say dier, if he is wounded, to be taken to this am- 



that there are not more than 40,000 horses now 
in Paris. The Petites Voitures (cab) company 
has 8000, and offered to sell them to the Gov- 
ernment a few days ago, but that proposal was 
declined. As regards salt meat, the Govern- 
ment keep secret the amount. It can not, 
however, be very great, because it is only de- 
rived from animals which have been killed 
since the siege commenced. The stock of flour, 
we are told, is practically unlimited, and as no 
attempt is made to prevent its waste in pastry 
and fancy cakes, the authorities are acting ap- 
parently on this assumption. 

The health of Paris is far from satisfactory, 
and when the winter weather regularly sets in 
there will be much sickness. No one is abso- 
lutely starving, but many are without sufficient 
nourishment. The Government gives orders 
for 10 cents' worth of bread to all who are in 
want, and these orders are accepted as money 
by all the bakers. In each arrondissement 
there are also what are called cantines e'cono- 
miques, where a mess of soup made from vegeta- 
bles and a small quantity of meat can be bought 
for five centimes. Very little, however, has 
been done to distribute warm clothing among 
the poor, and when it is considered that above 
100,000 persons have come into Paris from the 
neighboring villages, most of whom are depend- 
ent upon public or private charity, it is evident 
that, even if there is no absolute want, there 
must be much suffering. Count Bismarck was 
not far wrong when he said that, if the siege 
be prolonged until our stock of provisions is 
exhausted, many thousands in the succeeding 
weeks will die of starvation. I would recom- 
mend those charitable persons who are anxious 
to come to the aid of this unfortunate country 
to be ready to throw provisions into Paris as 
soon as communications with England are re- 
opened, rather than to subscribe their money to 
ambulances. All things considered, the wound- 
ed are well tended. In the hotel in which I 
am residing the Socie'te Internationale has es- 
tablished its head-quarters. We have now 160 
wounded here, and beds are prepared for 400. 
The ambulance occupies two stories, for which 
500 francs a day are paid; and an arrangement 



bulance. They appear to be under the impres- 
sion that, even if their legs are shot off, the skill 
of the JEsculapii of the United States will make 
them grow again. Be this as it may, a person 
might be worse off than stretched on a bed 
with a slight wound under the tents of the Far 
West. 

The French have a notion that, go where you 
may, to the top of a pyramid or to the top of 
Mont Blanc, you are sure to meet an English- 
man reading a newspaper; in my experience of 
the world, the American girl is far more inevi- 
table than the Britisher ; and, of course, under 
the stars and stripes which wave over the Amer- 
ican tents she is to be found, tending the sick, 
and, when there is nothing more to be got for 
them, patiently reading to them or playing at 
cards with them. I have a great weakness for 
the American girl ; she always puts her heart in 
what she is about. When she flirts she does it 
conscientiously, and when she nurses a most 
uninviting-looking Zouave, or Franc-tireur, she 
does it equally conscientiously ; besides, as a 
rule, she is pretty, a gift of nature which I am 
very far from undervaluing. 

November l&th. 

It is reported in "official circles " that a sec- 
ond pigeon has arrived with intelligence from 
the French Consul at Bale, that the Baden 
troops have been defeated, and that some of 
them have been obliged to seek refuge in Switz- 
erland. The evident object of Trochu now is 
to get up the courage of our warriors to the 
sticking-point for the grand sortie which is put 
off from day to day. The newspapers contain 
extracts from the English journals which came 
in the day before yesterday. By a process in 
which we are adepts at believing every thing 
which tells for us, and regarding every thing 
which tells against us as a fabrication of perfidi- 
ous Albion, we have consoled ourselves with the 
idea that " the situation is far better than we 
supposed." As for Bazaine, we can not make 
up our minds whether we ought to call him a 
traitor or a hero. We therefore say as little 
about him as possible. 

I have just come back from the southern out- 
posts. The redoubts of Moulin Saqui and Hautes 



has been made with the administration of the Bruyeres were firing heavily, and the Prussians 
hotel to feed the convalescent for 2*50 francs per were replying from Chatillon. Their shrapnell, 
diem. As in all French institutions, there ap- however, fell short, just within our advanced 



pear to me to be far too many officials ; the cor- 
ridors are pervaded with young healthy men, 
with the red cross on their arms, who are sup- 
posed to be making themselves useful in some 



line. From the sound of the guns, it was sup- 
posed that they were only using field-artillery. 
The sailors insist that the enemy has been un- 
able to place his siege-guns in position, and that 



mysterious manner, but whose main object in our fire knocks their earth-works to pieces. I 
being here is, I imagine, to shirk military serv- am inclined to think that behind these earth- 
ice. The ambulance which is considered the . works there are masked batteries, for surely the 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Nov. 19th. 



Prussian Engineer officers can not be amusing ' 
themselves with making earth-works for the 
mere pleasure of seeing them knocked to pieces. 
Anyhow they are playing a deep game, for, as 
far as I can hear, they have not fired a single 
siege-gun yet, either against our redoubts or 
forts. 

Xovember 19th. 

Burke, in his work on the French Revolution, 
augured ill of the future of a country the great- 
er number of whose legislators were lawyers. 
What would he have said of a Government 
composed almost exclusively of these objects of 
his political distrust ? When history recounts 
the follies of the French Republic of 1870, I 
trust that it will not forget to mention that all 
the members of the Government, with the ex- 
ception of one — six ministers, 13 under-secreta- 
ries of State, the Prefet of Police, 21 prefets and 
commissaries, sent into the provinces, and 3G 
other high functionaries — belonged to the legal 
profession. The natural consequence of this is 
that we can not get out of "Nisi prius." Our 
rulers are unable to take a large statesmanlike 
view of the situation. They live from hand to 
mouth, and never rise above the expedients and 
temporizing policy of advocates. They are per- 
petually engaged in appealing against the stern 
logic of facts to some imaginary tribunal, from 
which they hope to gain a verdict in favor of 
their clients. Like lawyers in England, they 
entered public life to "get on." This is still 
the first object of each one of them ; and as they 
are deputies of Paris, they feel that, next to 
themselves, they owe allegiance to their electors. 
To secure the supremacy of Paris over the prov- 
inces, and of their own influence over Paris, is 
the Alpha and Omega of their political creed. 
With an eye to the future, each of them has his 
own journal ; and when any decree is issued 
which is not popular, the public is given to un- 
derstand in these semi-official organs that every 
single member of the Government voted against 
it, although it passed by a majority. 

It is somewhat strange that the military man 
who, by the force of circumstances, is the Presi- 
dent of this devil's own Government is by na- 
ture more of a lawyer than even if he had been 
bred up to the trade. His colleagues own in 
despair that he is their master in strength of 
lungs, and that w r hen they split straws into two 
he splits them into four. In vain they fall back 
on their pens and indite letters and proclama- 
tions, their President out-letters and out-pro- 
claims them. Trochu is indeed a sort of mili- 
tary Ollivier. He earned his spurs as a military 
critic, Ollivier as a civil critic. Both are clever, 
and eminently respectable in their private rela- 
tions, and both are verbose, unpractical, and 
wanting in plain common sense. Ollivier had 
a plan, and so has Trochu. Ollivier complained, 
when his plan failed, that it was the fault of every 
one except himself, and Trochu is already doing 
the same. Both protested against the system 
of rule adopted by their predecessors, and have 
followed in their steps. Both were advocates 



of publicity, and both audaciously suppressed 
and distorted facts to suit their convenience. 
Ollivier is probably now writing a book to prove 
that he was the wisest of ministers. Trochu, as 
soon as the siege is over, will write one to prove 
that he was the best of generals. Ollivier in- 
sisted that he could found a Liberal Govern- 
ment upon an Imperial basis, and miserably fail- 
ed. Trochu declares that he, and he alone, can 
force the Prussians to raise the siege of Paris. 
When his plan has failed, as fail it in all proba- 
bility will, he still, with that serene assurance 
which is the attribute of mediocrity, will insist- 
that it ought to have succeeded. " Victrix causa 
Diis placuit, sed victa Catoni." Those who 
knew him in Brittany tell me that long before 
he became a personage, "le plan de Trochu" 
was a standing joke throughout that province. 

The General, it appears, is fond of piquet ; 
whenever he sat down to play, he said, " j'ai mon 
plan." When he got up after losing the game, 
as was usually the case, he went away mutter- 
ing, "Cependant, mon plan e'tait bon." He 
seemed to have this word "plan" on the brain, 
for no one who ever played with him could per- 
ceive in his mode of handling the cards the 
slightest trace of a plan. The mania was harm- 
less as long as its exhibition was confined to a 
game in which a few francs were to be won or 
lost, but it becomes most serious in its conse- 
quences when the destinies of a country are sub- 
ordinated to it. At the commencement of the 
siege, General Trochu announced that he not 
only had a " plan," but that he had inscribed it 
in his will, which was deposited with his notary. 
An ordinary man would have made use of the 
materials at his command, and, without pledg- 
ing himself to success, would have endeavored 
to give the provinces time to organize an army 
of succor by harassing the Prussians, and thus 
preventing them from detaching troops in all 
directions. Instead of this, with the exception 
of some two or three harmless sorties, they have 
been allowed slowly to inclose us in a net of 
circumvallations. Our provisions are each day 
growing more scarce, and nothing is done ex- 
cept to heap up defensive works to prevent the 
town being carried by an assault, which there is 
no probability that the besiegers mean to at- 
tempt. Chatillon and Meudon were ill guard- 
ed, but ditches were cut along the Avenue de 
l'lmperatrice. The young unmarried men in 
Paris were not incorporated until the fiftieth day 
of the siege, but two or three times a week they 
were lectured on their duties as citizens by their 
leader. If there is really to be a sortie every 
thing is ready, but now the General hesitates — 
hints that he is not seconded, that the soldiers 
will not fight, and almost seems to regret at last 
his own theoretical presumption. " He trust- 
ed," said one of his generals to me, "first to 
the neutrals, then to the provinces, and now he 
is afraid to trust to himself." Next time a gen- 
eral is besieged in a town, I should recommend 
him not to announce that he has a plan which 
must insure victory, unless indeed it be a Ger- 



Nov. COni.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



73 



man town, where nothing which an official can 
do is considered ridiculous. 

Benjamin Constant said of his countrymen 
that their heads could never contain more than 
one idea at once. A few days ago we were full 
of our victory at Orleans. Then came the ques- 
tion whether or not Bazaine was a traitor. To- 
day we have forgotten Bazaine and Orleans. 
The marching battalions of the National Guard 
arc to have new coats, and we can talk or think 
of nothing else. The effect as yet of these march- 
ing battalions has been to disorganize the exist- 
ing battalions. Every day some new decree has 
been issued altering their mode of formation. 
Perhaps the new coats will settle every thing, 
and convert them into excellent soldiers. Let 
us hope it. 

"We are by no means satisfied with the news 
which has reached us through the English pa- 
pers up to the 3d. Thus the Liberte, after giv- 
ing extracts from numbers of the Pall Mall 
Gazette, the Daily News, the Daily Telegraph, 
the Sun, the Times, and the Standard, accom- 
panies them with the following reflections : — 
" We feel bound to protest in favor of the Eng- 
lish press against the assertions of those who 
would judge the opinions of a great liberal na- 
tion by the wretched specimens which are under 
our eyes. Heaven be praised. The civilized 
world is net so degenerate that the ignoble con- 
duct of Prussia fails to elicit universal reproba- 
tion." We have had two more pigeons, but 
Gambetta either can not or will not let us know 
any thing of importance. These two messen- 
gers confirm the news of the "victory of Or- 
leans," and inform us that public opinion is dai- 
ly pronouncing in favor of Erance, and that the 
condition of affairs in the provinces is most sat- 
isfactory. Such is the universal distrust felt 
now for any intelligence which emanates from 
an official source, that if Gambetta were to send 
us in an account of a new victory to-morrow, 
and if all his colleagues here were to swear to 
its truth, we should be in a w T ild state of enthu- 
siasm for a few hours, and then disbelieve the 
whole story. 

Small-pox is on the increase. The deaths 
last week from this disease amounted to 419; 
the general mortality to 1885 — a number far 
above the average. The medical men com- 
plain of the amount of raw spirits which is 
drunk — particularly at the ramparts, and as- 
cribe much of the ill-health to this cause. 

By-the-by, the question of the treason of Ba- 
zaine turns with us upon what your correspond- 
ent at Saarbruck meant by the word "stores," 
which he says were discovered in Metz. If 
munitions of war, we say that Bazaine was a 
hero ; if food, that he was a traitor. 

If sieges were likely to occur frequently, the 
whole system of ambulances, as against milita- 
ry hospitals, would have to be ventilated. There 
are in Paris two hundred and forty-three am- 
bulances, and when the siege commenced, such 
was the anxiety to obtain a blesse', that when a 
sortie took place, those who brought them in 



were offered bribes to take them to the house 
over which the flag of Geneva waved. A man 
with a broken leg or arm was worth thirty francs 
to his kind preservers. The largest ambulance 
is the International. Its head-quarters are at 
the Grand Hotel. It seems to me over-manned, 
for the number of the healthy who receive pay 
and rations from its funds exceeds the number 
of the wounded. Many, too, of the former are 
young unmarried men, who ought to be serving 
j either in the ranks of the army, or at least of 
the Garde Nationale. The following story I 
take from an organ of public opinion of to-day's 
date : A lady went to her Maine to ask to be 
given a wounded soldier to look after. She was 
offered a swarthy Zouave. "No," she said, 
" I wish for a blond, being a brunette myself." 
Nothing like a contrast. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Xovember 50t7i. 
Ero^i morning to evening cannon Avere 
rolling and troops were marching through the 
streets. Since Saturday night the gates of 
the town had been rigidly closed to all civil- 
ians, and even those provided with passes from 
head-quarters were refused egress. It was 
known that the grand effort which is to make 
or mar us was to be made the next morning, 
and it was hoped that the Prussians would be 
taken unawares. The plan, in its main details, 
was confided to me by half a dozen persons, 
and, therefore, I very much question whether it 
is a secret to the enemy. Most of those who 
take an interest in the war have, I presume, a 
map of Paris. If they consult it, they will see 
that the Marne from the east, and the Seine 
from the south, unite about a mile from the 
south-eastern corner of the enceinte. Two 
miles before the junction of the two rivers the 
Marne makes a loop to the south, in this way 
running parallel with the Seine for about three 
miles. On the north of the Marne towards Par- 
is lies the wood of Vincennes, and beyond the 
loop there are the villages of Joinville, Nogent, 
and Brie. The line is defended by the forts 
of Vincennes and Nogent and the redoubt of 
La Faisanderie. To the south, between the 
loop and the Seine, is the fort of Charenton ; a 
little farther on the village of Cre'teil ; beyond 
it, just outside the loop, is Montmesly, where 
the Prussians have heavy batteries. On the 
north side of the loop is the village of Cham- 
pigny, which is situated on a plateau that ex- 
tends from there to Brie. On the south of Par- 
is, between the Seine and Meudon, are first a 
line of forts, then a line of redoubts, except 
where Chatillon cuts in close by the Fort of 
Vanves. Beyond this line of redoubts is a 
plain, which slopes down towards the villages 
of L'Hay, Chevilly, Thiais, and Choisy-le-Roi, 
which is situated on the Seine about five 
miles from Paris. By Monday evening about 
100,000 men and 400 cannon were massed un- 



71 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Nov. 30th. 



der General Ducrot in the Bois de Vincennes 
and in the adjacent villages. About 15,000 
men, under General Vinoy, were behind the 
southern line of redoubts, close by the village 
of Villejuif. Troops were also placed near St. 
Denis and in the peninsula of Genevilliers, to 
distract the attention of the enemy. It was ar- 
ranged that early in the morning General Vi- 
noy should push forward in the direction of 
L'Hay and Choisy, and then, when the Prus- 
sian reserves had been attracted to the south 
by this demonstration, Ducrot should throw 
bridges over the Marne and endeavor to force 
his way through the lines of investment by the 
old high road of Bale. 

At one in the morning a tremendous cannon- 
ade from all the forts and redoubts round Paris 
commenced. It was so loud that I imagined 
that the Prussians were attempting an assault, 
and I went off to the southern ramparts to see 
Avhat was happening. The sight there was a 
striking one. The heavy booming of the great 
guns, the bright flash each time they fired, and 
the shells with their lighted fusees rushing 
through the air, and bursting over the Prussian 
lines, realized what the French call a "feu d'en- 
fer." At about three o'clock the firing slack- 
ened, and I went home, but at four it recom- 
menced. At six o'clock General Vinoy's troops 
advanced in two columns, one against L'Hay, 
and the other against La Gare aux Boeufs, a 
fortified inclosure, about a mile above Choisy- 
le-Roi. The latter was speedily occupied, a 
body of sailors rushing into it, and carrying 
all before them, the Prussians falling back on 
Choisy. At L'Hay the attacking column met 
with a strenuous resistance. As soon as it had 
passed the barricade at the entrance of the vil- 
lage, a heavy fire was poured into it from the 
houses at both sides of the main street. A 
hand-to-hand encounter then took place with 
the Prussian Guard, which had been brought 
up as a reinforcement. While the fight was 
progressing an order arrived from General Tro- 
chu to retreat. The same order was sent to 
the Gare aux Boeufs, and by ten o'clock the 
troops to the south of Paris had fallen back to 
the positions they occupied the previous even- 
ing. General Vinoy, during the engagement, 
was with his staff on the bridge which crosses 
the Seine near Charenton. A battalion of Na- 
tional Guards were drawn up near him. A 
chance shell took off the legs of one of these 
heroes; his comrades fled in dismay — they were 
rallied and brought back with difficulty. A 
little later they were engaged in cooking their 
food, when some tin pans fell against each oth- 
er. Thinking it was a bomb, they again scat- 
tered, and the General was .obliged to ride along 
the line shouting, " Courage, courage ; it is the 
soup, my children." 

In the mean time a terrible mishap had oc- 
curred on the north of the Marne. On Mon- 
day evening, General Trochu and General Du- 
crot slept at Vincennes. The latter had issued 
an address, in which he informed his troops 



that he meant either to conquer or die. Dur- 
ing the night an exchange of shots had taken 
place across the river between the French and 
Prussian sharp-shooters. Towards morning 
the latter had withdrawn. At break of day 
the troops were drawn up ready to cross the 
river as soon as the engagement on the south- 
ern lines had diverted the attention of the 
enemy. The bridges were there ready to be 
thrown across, when it was discovered that the 
Marne had overflown its bed, and could not be 
crossed. Whether it be true or not that the 
Prussians had cut a dam, or whether, as some- 
times occurs with literary generals, the pon- 
toons were too few in number, is not yet clear. 
Whatever the cause, the effect was to render it 
impossible to carry out to-day the plan which 
was to take General Ducrot and his troops down 
to Orleans, and at the present moment he and 
they are still at Vincennes, waiting for the riv- 
er to go down. At twelve o'clock I managed 
to get through the gate of Vanves. Outside 
the walls every thing was quiet. Troops were 
massed in all sheltered places to resist any at- 
tack which might be made from the plateau of 
Chatillon, None of the officers seemed to 
know what had occurred. Some thought that 
Choisy had been taken, others that Ducrot had 
got clear away. I was walking along the out- 
posts in advance of Vanves, when a cantanker- 
ous officer, one of those beings overflowing with 
ill-regulated zeal, asked me what I was doing. 
I showed my pass. My zealous friend insisted 
that I had come in from the Prussian lines, 
and that I probably was a spy. I said I had 
left Paris an hour ago. He replied that this 
was impossible, as no civilian was allowed to 
pass through the gate. Things began to look 
uncomfortable. The zealot talked of shooting 
me, as a simple and expeditious mode of solv- 
ing the question. To this I objected, and so 
at length it was agreed that I should be march- 
ed off to the fort of Vanves. We found the 
Commandant seated before his fort with a big 
stick in his hand, like a farmer before his farm- 
yard. In vain the zealot endeavored to excite 
his ire against me. The Commandant and I 
got into conversation, and became excellent 
friends. He, too, knew nothing of what had 
occurred. He had been bombarding Chatillon, 
he said, and he supposed he should soon receive 
orders to recommence. What seemed to sur- 
prise him was that the Prussians during the 
whole night had not replied either from Chatil- 
lon, Sevres, or Meudon to the French guns. 
From Vanves I went to Villejuif, where a tem- 
porary ambulance had been erected, and the 
surgeons were busy with the wounded. As 
soon as their wounds were dressed, they were 
taken in ambulance-carts inside the town. The 
officers and soldiers, who had not yet learnt 
that General Ducrot had failed to cross the 
Marne, were in a very bad humor at having 
been ordered to withdraw at the very moment 
when they were carrying every thing before 
them. They represented the Prussians as hav- 



Dec. 3d.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



To 



ing fought like devils, and declared that they 
appeared to take a fiendish pleasure in killing 
even the wounded. Within the town the ex- 
citement to know what had passed is intense. 
The Government has posted up a notice saying 
that every thing is happening as General Tro- 
chu wished it. Not a word is said about Du- 
crot's failure. The Libertg, which gives a 
guarded account of what really took place, has 
been torn to pieces on the Boulevards. I have 
just been talking with an officer on the head- 
quarters staff. He tells me that Trochu is still 
outside, very much cast down, but determined 
to make a desperate effort to retrieve matters 
to-morrow. 

We have received to-day some English news- 
papers, and you may imagine how far behind 
the age we are from the fact that we learn for 
the first time that Prince Gortschakoff has put 
his finger into the pie. Good heavens ! I have 
invested my savings in Turkish Five per cents., 
and it gives me a cold shiver to think at what 
figure I shall find these Oriental securities 
quoted on the Stock Exchange when I emerge 
from my enforced seclusion and again find my- 
self in communication with the outer world. 

December 3d. 

For the last two days the public within the 
walls of Paris has been kept in profound igno- 
rance of what has been passing outside. Gener- 
al Trochu has once or twice each day published 
a dispatch saying that every thing is happening 
as he anticipated, and the majority of those who 
read these oracular utterances religiously believe 
in them as though they had never been deceived. 
On the Boulevards there, are crowds who ques- 
tion any soldier who is seen passing. "Tout 
va bien " is the only answer which they get ; 
but they seem to be under the impression that 
the siege is already over, and that the Prussian 
lines have been forced. Along the road inside 
the ramparts, and at the gates, there are dense 
masses listening to the cannon, and on every 
mound from which a distant view of the smoke 
can be obtained men, women, and children are 
congregated. I managed to get both yesterday 
and to-day into the horse-shoe at the mouth of 
which the fighting was going on, and yesterday 
afternoon, when there was a semi-suspension of 
arms to bury the dead, I went with the ambu- 
lances on the debatable land between the two 
armies. The whole horse-shoe is full of artil- 
lery. The bombs and shells from the forts and 
batteries pass over them, and explode within the 
Prussian lines. A little behind, every house is 
filled with wounded, who are taken, as soon as 
their wounds are dressed, inside the town. One 
or two batteries occasionally open fire, and oc- 
casionally those of the Prussians respond. Tro- 
chu and Ducrot ride about, and, as far as I can 
see, the latter commands while the former makes 
speeches. 

Yesterday afternoon we had lost ground at 
Champigny, and we had gained ground at Vil- 
liers. Before our lines a very large number of 
Prussian dead were lying. There were bury- 



ing-parties out on both sides, but they were get- 
ting on very slowly with their work, and were 
perpetually fired on. At 4 a.m. the Prussians 
had made a rush at our lines from Champigny 
to Brie, and the Mobiles and line, taken by sur- 
prise, hastily fell back. One or two regiments 
of Mobiles were literally charged by squadrons 
of gendarmerie, to force them back. Reinforce- 
ments came up, and by nine o'clock the posi- 
tions had been regained — the Prussians being 
unable to withstand the fire of our forts, re- 
doubts, and siege-guns. The battle then went 
on till about 3 o'clock, when it died out. To- 
wards Villiers, I should say we had gained about 
three-quarters of a mile, and at Champigny 
we had lost about a third of the village. At 
about five o'clock I got back to my hotel, which 
is the head-quarters of the Ambulance Inter- 
nationale. Until eleven o'clock wounded were 
being brought in. It is quite full now. About 
460 French, and 30 Germans — almost all Sax- 
ons. Many died during the night. In the room 
next to mine, Franchetti, the commander of the 
Eclaireurs of the Seine, is lying — a portion of 
his hip has been blown away by a shell, and the 
doctor has just told me that he fears that he 
will not recover, as the wound is too high up for 
an operation. In the room beyond him is a 
young lieutenant of Mobiles, who has had his 
leg amputated, and his right arm cut open to 
extract a portion of the bone, and who still has 
a ball in his shoulder. Most of the soldiers in 
here are wounded either in the leg or in the arm. 
There is a great dearth of doctors, and many 
wounded who were brought here last night had 
to wait until this morning before their turn came 
to be examined. The American Ambulance 
and several others are also, I hear, full. I go 
in occasionally to see the Germans, as I can 
talk their language, and it cheers them to hear 
it. I see in the newspapers that wounded Ba- 
varians and Saxons are perpetually crying 
"Vive la France !" I can only say that those 
here do nothing of the kind. They do not seem 
to be particularly downcast at finding themselves 
in the hands of their enemies. They are treat- 
ed precisely as the French are, and they are 
grateful for this. 

This afternoon, when I got into the horse-shoe, 
I found the troops returning into Paris, and I 
was not able to get to the front. Some say that 
we have left 20,000 men at Villiers and Cham- 
pigny ; others that Champigny was lost last 
night. I hear, too, that early this morning the 
Prussians attempted a surprise, but were driven 
back. The general idea seems to be, that to- 
morrow we are to try to get out either by Cha- 
tillon or Malmaison. A pigeon came in this 

' morning from Bourbaki, with a dispatch dated 
Nov. 30, stating that he is advancing, and among 
the soldiers this dispatch has already become an 
official notice that he is at Meaux. All I know 
for certain is that the ambulances are ordered 
out for eight o'clock to-morrow morning, and 
that I am now going to bed, so as to be ready to 

' start with them. 



7G 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Dec. 4th. 



I hear that there has been fighting both yes- 
terday and to-day near Bondy; but not being 
able to be in two places at once, I can not tell 
what really occurred. To my civilian judg- 
ment it appears that as our object was to force 
the line of heights on the south-east of Paris, 
which constitute the Prussian lines of invest- 
ment in that direction, and as we have not done 
so, we can hardly be said to be in a better posi- 
tion than we Avere last Monday. At a heavy 
cost of life we have purchased the knowledge 
that our new artillery is better than was ex- 
pected, and that Line and Mobiles will stand 
under fire with tolerable steadiness until their 
officers are bowled over, when they break. The 
National Guards were not engaged. General 
Trochu and General Pisani tried to get some 
of their battalions over the Marne, but found it 
impossible. After a long speech from Trochu, 
Pisani shouted, "Vive la France!" To this 
they responded; but when he added, "Vive 
Trochu!" they remained silent, and their com- 
manders declared that this involved political 
considerations with regard to which they and 
their men " make certain reservations." They 
are, however, very proud of having been within 
two miles of a battle-field, and Trochu congrat- 
ulates them, in an order of the day, upon giving 
a "moral support" to the army. This is pre- 
cisely what every one is willing to do. Moral 
support will not, however, get the Prussians 
away from Paris. 

Food is becoming more scarce every day. 
I Yesterday all our sausages were requisitioned. 
We have still got the cows to fall back on, but 
they are kept to the last for the sake of their 
milk. They are fed on oats, as hay is scarce. 
So you see the mother of a calf has many ad- 
vantages over its uncle. All the animals in the 
Zoological Gardens have been killed except the 
monkeys ; these are kept alive from a vague 
and Darwinian notion that they are our relatives, 
or at least the relatives of some of the mem- 
bers of the Government, to whom in the matter 
of beauty nature has not been bountiful. In 
the cellar of the English Embassy there are 
three sheep. Never did the rich man lust more 
after the poor man's ewe lamb than I lust after 
these sheep. I go and look at them frequently, 
much as a London Arab goes to have a smell 
at a cook-shop. They console me for the ab- 
sence of my ambassador. Some one has dis- 
covered that an excellent jelly can be made out 
of old bones, and we are called upon by the 
mayors to give up all our bones, in order that 
they may be submitted to the process. Mr. 
Powell is, I believe, a contractor in London. I 
do not know him ; but yesterday I dined with 
a friend who produced from a tin some Aus- 
tralian mutton, which he had bought of Mr. 
Powell before the commencement of the siege. 
Better I never tasted, and out of gratitude I 
give the worthy Powell the benefit of a gratis 
advertisement. If we only had a stock of his 
meat here, we could defy the Prussians. As 
it is. I am very much afraid that in a very few 



weeks William will date his telegrams to Au- 
gusta from the Tuileries. 

December Wh. 

I wrote to you in a great hurry last night in 
order to catch a balloon which was to have 
gone this morning, but whose departure has 
been deferred, as the wind was not favorable. I 
am now able to give some more accurate details 
respecting the affair of Friday, as I have had 
an opportunity of talking with several of the of- 
ficers who were on the staffs of the different 
generals engaged. After the Prussians at 4 
a.m. had surprised the whole of the French line 
from Brie to Champigny, they pushed forward 
a heavy column between the latter place and 
the Marne, thus outflanking their opponents. 
The column advanced about half-way up the 
horse-shoe formed by the bend in the river, and 
would have got as far as the bridges at Join- 
ville, had not General Fave opened fire upon it 
from a small redoubt which he had built in ad- 
vance of Joinville, and from forty field-guns 
which he rapidly placed in position. Rein- 
forcements were then brought up under Gen- 
eral Blanchard, and the column was at length 
forced back, fighting hard, to Champigny. Yes- 
terday afternoon, most of the troops in the 
horse-shoe crossed over the river, and are now 
either in the wood of Vincennes or in other 
portions of the line between the forts and the 
enceinte. General Trochu has returned to the 
Louvre, and General Ducrot, I hear, yesterday 
evening expressed his regret that he had pub- 
lished that foolish manifesto, in which he de- 
clared that if he did not conquer he would die ; 
for, not having done either, he felt the awk- 
wardness of re-entering the city. Both Ducrot 
and Trochu freely exposed themselves ; the lat- 
ter received a slight wound in the back of the 
head from a piece of a shell which struck him. 
All the officers were obliged to keep well in ad- 
vance of their soldiers in order to encourage 
them. The brunt of the fighting fell to the 
Line ; the Mobiles, as a rule, only behaved tol- 
erably well : the Vendeans, of whom much was 
expected, badly. The only battalion of the Na- 
tional Guards engaged was that from Belleville, 
and it very speedily fell back. I have always 
had my doubts about the valor of the Parisians. 
I found it difficult to believe in men who hunt 
for pretexts to avoid military service — who are 
so very fond of marching behind drums and 
vivandieres inside a town, and who, in some 
way or other, manage either to avoid going out 
of it, or when forced out, avoid all danger. 

The population is in profound ignorance of 
the real state of affairs outside. It still believes 
that the Prussian lines have been forced, and 
that the siege will be over in a few days. I 
presume that Trochu will make a second sortie 
in force. Unless, however, his operations are 
powerfully aided by the armies of the provinces, 
it is difficult to believe that the result will be 
any thing beyond a useless sacrifice of life. On 
Friday, it is estimated that our loss amounted 
to 4500 wounded, and GOO killed. That of the 



Dt:c. 5th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



77 



Prussians must have been very heavy, to judge 
from the number of dead bodies that were lying 
about in the fields and woods. 

The ambulances were ordered out this morn- 
ing, and at seven o'clock some 300 victims ren- 



As for the population of Paris, they are more 
than useless. They eat up the provisions ; they 
are endowed with a mixture of obstinacy and 
conceit, which will very probably enable them 
to endure considerable hardships rather than 



dezvoused with the carriages on the Quai, near ! surrender; fight, however, they will not, although 



the Place de la Concorde. After freezing there 
for about two hours, it was suggested that a 
messenger should be sent to General Trochu, to 
ask him whether we were really wanted. The 
reply was that no attack would be made to-day, 
and consequently we went off home to thaw. 
If wars really must be made, I do hope that we 
shall fall back upon the old system of carrying 
on military operations in summer. When the 
thermometer is below zero, I feel like Bob 
Acres — all my valor oozing out at my fingers' 
ends. The doctors tell me that many slight 
wounds have gangrened owing to the cold. 
When a battle lasts until evening the mass of 
the wounded can not be picked up until the 
next morning, and their sufferings during the 
night must be terrible. I saw several poor fel- 
lows picked up who appeared literally frozen. 

The Journal Officiel of to-day contains a let- 
ter from Monseigneur Bauer, protesting against 
the Prussians having shot at him when he went 
forward with a flag of truce and a trumpet. 
The fact is vouched for by, among others, a jour- 
nalist who remained during the night of Friday 
outside the walls. I can easily believe it, for the 
Prussians are not a chivalrous enemy. They 
are perpetually firing on ambulances ; and, when 
it suits their own purposes, raising the white 
flag. If, indeed, one-tenth part of the stories 
which I hear of their treacheries be true, they 
ought to be exterminated like wolves. This 
Monseigneur Bauer is a character. He began 
life as a German Jew, and he is now a French- 
man and a Christian Bishop. During the Em- 
pire he was chaplain to the court, and confessor 
of the Empress. He is now chaplain of the 
Ambulances de la Presse, and has under his 



orders 800 "Freres Chre'tiens," who dress as had a hard task, but it has worked with a will, 



priests, but are not in holy orders. Both he and 
they display the greatest courage. The Freres 
Chretiens are the foremost in picking up the 
wounded — going forward long before the firing 
is over. The Bishop prances about on his horse, 
dressed in a soutane and long boots, the Grrand 
Cross of the Legion of Honor on his breast, a 



I am convinced that, to the end of their lives, they 
will boast of their heroic valor, and in the legend 
which will pass muster as history of the siege of 
Paris, our grandchildren will be taught that in 
1870, when the French troops were all prisoners 
of war, the citizens of the French capital " cov- 
ered themselves with honor," and for nearly 
three months held their town against the furious 
onslaughts of the victorious German armies. 
The poor soldiers and the Mobiles, who do all 
the real fighting, will experience the eternal 
truth of Virgil's Sic vos non vobis. But there is 
no use being angry at what will happen in one 
hundred years, for what does it signify to any 
who are now alive either in Paris or out of 
Paris ? 

December 5th. 
A proclamation.has been issued by the Gov- 
ernment, announcing that the troops have re- 
tired across the Marne, as the enemy has had 
time to collect such a force in front of Villiers 
and Champigny that further efforts in this di- 
rection would be sterile. "The loss of the 
enemy during the glorious days of the 29th and 
30th November, and December 2d, has been 
so great that, struck down in its pride of power, 
it has allowed an army which it attacked the 
day before to cross a river under its eyes, and 
in the light of day," continues this manifesto. 
Now, considering that the crossing took place at 
Joinville, and that the river at that point is un- 
der the fire of three forts and two redoubts, it 
appears to me that General Trochu might as 
well take credit to himself for crossing the Seine 
opposite the Place de la Concorde. I will say 
for the Government of to-day, that in any at- 
tempt to beat its predecessor in mendacity it 



and completely succeeded. The military at- 
taches who are still here consider that the 
French loss during the three days can net be 
less than 10,000 in killed and wounded. It is 
very unlikely that the Government will admit a 
loss of above 2000 or 3000. That of the Prus- 
sians is, we are told, far larger than ours. 



golden crucifix hanging from his neck, and a! Without accepting this assertion as gospel, it 
huge episcopal ring on his finger, outside his must have been very heavy. A friend of mine 
gloves. Sometimes he appears in a red cloak, himself counted 500 dead bodies in one wood, 
-which I presume is a part of his sacerdotal gear. We have a certain number of prisoners. With 



I am told by those who know him that "Mon- 
seigneur " is a consummate humbug, but he is 
very popular with the soldiers, as he talks to 
them in their own language, and there certainly 
is no humbug about his pluck. He is as steady 
under fire as if he were in a pulpit. He was by 
the side of Ducrot when the general's horse was 
killed under him. 

The events of the, past week prove that Gen- 
eral Trochu's sole available force for resisting 



respect to the wounded in our hands, I find that 
there are about 30 in my hotel, as against above 
400 French. In the American ambulance, out 
of 130 only two are Germans. Colonel Clare- 
mont, who had put off his departure, witnessed 
the fight in the redoubt which General Fave 
had built opposite Joinville. He was nearly 
killed several times by bombs from La Faisan- 
derie, which was behind him, bursting short. 
The Parisians are somewhat taken aback at 



the enemy consists of the Line and the Mobiles, the victory resulting in a retreat. They appear, 



78 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Dec. 6th. 



however, to be as ignorant of the environs of 
their own capital as they are of foreign coun- 
tries, and they never condescend to consult a 
map. While some of them shake their heads 
in despair of success, the majority is under the 
impression that Villiers and Champigny are far 
beyond the range of the guns of our forts, and 
that as the ground near them, is still occupied 
by our troops, something which will lead to the 
speedy retreat of the Prussians has been done. 
We are two millions, they say ; we will all die 
rather than surrender: and they appear to be 
under the impression that if they only say this 
often enough, Paris never will be taken. The 
Ultra-Democrats in the clubs have a new theo- 
ry to account for their refusal to fight. "We 
are," observed an orator, a few nights ago, "the 
children of Paris ; she has need of us ; can we 
leave her at such a moment ?" Some of these 
heroes, indeed, assert that the best plan would 
be to allow the Prussians to enter, and then 
convert them to the doctrines of Republicanism. 
I think it was St. Augustine who did not de- 
spair of the devil eventually turning over a new 
leaf; in the same way I heard an ardent patriot 
express the hope of being able to convert "Wil- 
liam " himself to the creed of the Universal Re- 
public. At the club where these fraternal sen- 
timents were expressed there is a lady who sits 
on the platform. When any one makes what 
she considers a good speech she embraces him 
on both cheeks. She is by no means ugly, and 
I had serious thoughts of making a few obser- 
vations myself in view of the reward. That 
bashfulness, however, which has been my bane 
through life, prevented me. The lady occa- 
sionally speaks herself, and is fond of giving 
her own experiences. "I was on my way to 
this club," she said, "the other evening, when 
I observed a man following me. 'What dost 
thou want?' I asked, sternly eying him. 'I 
love you,' replied the vile aristocrat. 'I am 
the wife of a citizen,' I answered, 'and the 
mother of the Gracchi.' The wretch sneaked 
away, abashed, to seek other prey. If he ad- 
dresses himself to some princess or duchess he 
will probably find a victim." The loudest ap- 
plause greeted this " experience," and several 
very unclean-looking patriots rushed forward 
to embrace the mother of the Gracchi, in order 
to show her how highly they appreciated her no- 
ble conduct. 

The newspapers are already beginning to 
dread that possibly some doubts may be cast 
upon the heroism of every one during the last 
week. The Figaro contains the following: — 
"No matter what certain correspondents — bet- 
ter known than they suppose — may say, and 
although they are preparing to infect the for- 
eign countries with their correspondence, our 
Bretons did not run away on Thursday. It is 
true that when they saw the Saxons emerging 
from their holes and shouting hurrah, our Bre- 
tons were a little troubled by this abrupt and 
savage joke, but"— then follows the statement 
of several of the heroes themselves that thev 



fought like lions. The fact is, as I have al- 
ready stated in my letter of yesterday, the Mo- 
biles fought only tolerably well, and some of 
their battalions rather the reverse of well. The 
Line, for young troops, behaved very fairly ; 
and the reckless courage of the officers, both of 
the Line and Mobile, was above all praise. It 
is, however, a military axiom that when an un- 
due proportion of officers are killed in a battle 
their troops have hung back. Good soldiers 
can not be made in two months, and it is ab- 
surd to expect that raw lads, who were taken 
from the plough a few weeks ago, would fight as 
well as trained and hardened warriors. This 
however, we are called upon, in defiance of 
facts, to believe, because " the soil of France 
produces soldiers." 

It is difficult to guess what will happen now. 
The generals must be aware that unless one of 
the armies of the provinces take the Prussians 
| in the rear, a fresh sortie will only result in a 
fresh butchery; but then, on the other hand, 
the Parisians will not be satisfied until all the 
Line and the Mobiles outside the walls have 
been killed, in order that it may be said that 
the resistance of Paris was heroic. If I were 
Trochu, I should organize a sortie exclusively 
of National Guards, in order to show these gen- 
try what a Tery different thing real fighting is 
to parading about the streets of the capital and 
wearing a uniform. 

The following is a list of the prices of " luxu- 
ries :" — Terrines of chicken, 16 fr. ; of rabbit, 
13 fr. ; a fowl, 26 fr. ; a rabbit, 18 fr. ; a tur- 
key, 60 fr. ; a goose, 45 fr. ; one cauliflower, 3 
fr. ; one cabbage, 4 fr. ; dog is 2 fr. a lb. ; a 
cat skinned costs 5 f r. ; a rat, 1 fr. ; if fat from 
the drains, 1 fr. 50 c. Almost all the animals 
in the Jardin des Plantes have been eaten. 
They have averaged about 7 fr. a lb. Kan- 
garoo, however, has been sold for 12 fr. the lb. 
Yesterday I dined with the correspondent of a 
London paper. He had managed to get a 
large piece of mufflon, an animal which is, I be- 
lieve, only found in Corsica. I can only de- 
scribe it by saying that it tasted of mufflon, and 
nothing else. Without being absolutely bad, I 
do not think that I shall take up my residence 
in Corsica in order habitually to feed upon it. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

December Cith. 
I am by no means certain that I should be a 
hero at the Equator, but I am fully convinced 
that I should be an abject coward at the North 
Pole. Three mornings ago I stood for two 
hours by the Ambulances de la Presse, and my 
teeth have not ceased to chatter ever since. I 
pity the unfortunate fellows who had to keep 
watch all night on the plateau of Villiers more 
than those who were put out of their misery 
the day before. When it is warm weather, one 



views with a comparative resignation the Prus- 
sian batteries, and one has a sort of fanatical 



Dec. 6tii.] 

belief that the bombs will not burst within strik- 
ing distance ; when the thermometer is below 
zero, one imagines that every cannon within 
four miles is pointed at one's head. I do not 
know how it maybe with others, but on me cold 
has a most unheroic effect. My legs become as 
willful as those of Mrs. Dombey's titled rela- 
tive, and it is only by the strongest effort of 
mind over matter that I can prevent them car- 
rying me beyond the reach of cannon-balls, bul- 
lets, and shells. I have a horrible vision of 
myself lying all night with a broken leg in a 
ditch, gradually freezing. On a warm sum- 
mer's day I do not think very much of the 
courage of those who fight well ; on a cold 
winter's day, however, any man who does not 
run away and take shelter by a fire deserves well 
of his country. 

We are by no means a very happy family. 
General Ducrot and General Blanchard have 
"had words." The latter, in the course of the 
dispute, said to the former, "If your sword were 
as long as your tongue, you would be a wonder- 
ful warrior indeed." Ducrot and Trochu are 
the literary Generals ; Vinoy and Blanchard 
the fighting Generals. It is reported also that 
General Fave is to be superseded, though why 
I can not learn, as his redoubt may be said to 
have saved the army from a greater disaster. 
While, however, the military men differ among 
themselves, they are all agreed in abusing the 
National Guards, whom they irreverently call 
"Les Charcutiers" — the pork butchers. When 
La Gare aux Bceufs was carried by Admiral 
Folhuan and his sailors, two battalions of these 
heroes followed in the rear. The Admiral and 
the sailors were somewhat astonished to find 
that in the order of the day hardly any thing 
was said of those who really did all the fight- 
ing, but that the "pork butchers" were lauded 
to the skies. General Trochu on this wrote a 
letter to the Admiral, informing him that it was 
necessary for political reasons to encourage the 
National Guard. Whilst the battle was going 
on at Villiers and Champigny, the marching 
battalions of the National Guard were di\iwn up 
almost out of shot. An order came to form 
them into line. Their commander, General 
Cle'ment Thomas, replied that this would be 
impossible, as they would imagine that they 
were about to be taken into action. Notwith- 
standing this, General Trochu congratulates 
them upon the "moral support" which they 
afforded him. It is not surprising that the real 
soldiers should feel hurt at this system of hum- 
bug. They declare that at the next sortie they 
will force the Parisians to fight by putting them 
in front, and firing on them if they attempt to 
run away. It must be remembered that these 
fighting battalions consist of young unmarried 
men, and if Paris is to be defended, there is no 
reason why they should not be exposed to dan- 
ger. The inhabitants of this city seem to con- 
sider themselves a sacred race ; they clamor for 
sorties, vow to die for their country, and then 
wish to do it by procuration. I am utterly dis- 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PABIS. 



79 



gusted with the difference between their words 
and their deeds. The Mobiles and the Line 
have as yet done all the fighting, and yet, \o 
read the Paris newspapers, one would suppose 
that the National Guards, who have kept well 
out of all danger, have "covered themselves 
with glory." Since the siege commenced they 
have done nothing but swagger about in uni- 
forms, and go in turns on the ramparts. They 
have learnt to knock a penny off a cork at a dis- 
tance of ten yards, and they have earned on a 
very successful campaign against the sparrows. 
A fresh order was issued yesterday, suppress- 
ing all passes until further notice. I have a 
pass en regie from General Vinoy; but even 
with this, the last time I went out of the town 
I was turned back at two gates before I got 
through at the third. A good deal of dissen- 
sion has taken place among the foreign corre- 
spondents respecting the fairness of going out 
with an ambulance under guise of the Geneva 
flag. I see myself no objection to it, provided 
the correspondent really does make himself use- 
ful in picking up the wounded. In the Prus- 
sian camp a correspondent has a recognized 
position ; here it is different, and he must use 
all legitimate means to obtain intelligence of 
what is passing. My pass, for instance, does 
not describe me as a correspondent, but as an 
Englishman accredited by the British Embassy. 
At the commencement of the siege I begged 
Mr. Wodehouse to give me a letter of introduc- 
tion to M. Jules Ferry, one of the members of 
the Government. This I did not deliver, but 
at General Vinoy 's head-quarters I showed it to 
prove that I was not a Prussian spy, but that I 
was known by my natural guardian. An aid- 
de-camp then gave me a pass, and, not know- 
ing precisely what to call me, described me as 
" accredited by the British Embassy." I move 
about, therefore, as a mysterious being — perhaps 
an Ambassador, perhaps an Ambassador's valet. 
A friend of mine, who is an authority with the 
Ambulance de la Presse, and who owns a car- 
riage, has promised to call for me when next 
the ambulances are sent for; but, as I have al- 
ready said, all my energy oozes out of me when 
the thermometer is below zero ; and unless the> 
next battle is fought on a warm day, I shall not 
witness it. As a matter of fact, unless one is 
riding with the staff of the general who com- 
mands, one can not form an idea of what is 
going on by hanging about, and it is a horri- 
ble sight to look with an opera-glass at men 
and horses being massacred. When knights 
charged each other with lances there was a cer- 
tain chivalry in war ; but there is nothing either 
noble or inspiriting in watching a quantity of 
unfortunate Breton peasants, who can not even 
speak French, and an equal number of Berlin 
grocers, who probably ask for nothing better 
than to be back in their shops, destroying each 
other at a distance of two or three miles with 
balls of lead and iron, many of them filled with 
explosive materials. I confess that I pity the 
horses almost as much as the men. It seems a 



80 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Dec. 7th. 



monstrous thing that, in order that the Alsa- 
cians should be forced into becoming subjects 
of King William of Prussia, an omnibus-horse, 
who has honestly done his work in the streets 
of Paris, should be taken outside the walls of 
the town to have his head blown off or to stump 
about on three legs until he dies of cold and 
hunger. Horses have a way when they are 
wounded of making desperate efforts to get up, 
and then letting their heads fall with a bang on 
the soil which is very horrible to witness. 

Every body in authority and out of it seems 
to have a different opinion as to when the siege 
will end. I can not think that when a town 
with two million inhabitants is reduced to such 
expedients as this is now, it can hold out very 
long. The rations, consisting alternately of 
horse and salt fish, are still distributed, but they 
are hardly sufficient to keep body and soul to- 
gether. Unless we make up our minds to kill 
our artillery-horses, we shall soon come to the 
end of our supply. The rumor to-day is that 
the Prussians have evacuated Versailles, and 
that Frederick Charles has been beaten in a 
battle on the Loire, but I can not say that I 
attach great credit to either story. No pigeon 
has arrived for the last three days, owing, it is 
supposed, to the cold ; and until we know for 
certain what D'Aurelles de Paladine is doing, 
we are unable to form an accurate opinion of the 
chances of the siege being raised. All that can 
be said is that, left to ourselves, we shall not be 
able to break through the lines of investment, 
and that when we have eaten up all our food, 
we shall have to capitulate. 

December 1th. 

"When this war commenced the Parisians be- 
lieved in the bulletins which their own Govern- 
ment issued, because they thought it only natu- 
ral that their arms should be successful, and they 
disbelieved in any foreign newspaper which ven- 
tured to contest their victories. At present they 
are incredulous alike of every thing that comes 
from friend and foe. Nine-tenths of them are 
under the impression that Count Moltke, in an- 
nouncing the defeat of the Army of the Loire, is 
guilty of a deliberate falsehood ; the other tenth 
supposes that he has grossly exaggerated a slight 
mishap, and that the occupation of Orleans only 
proves that Orleans was not defended by a large 
body of troops. It takes about three days for 
any information which is not in accordance with 
the wishes of this extraordinary population to 
obtain credit, no matter what amount of evi- 
dence there may be to prove its truth. If really 
the Army of the Loire has been put hors de com- 
bat, sooner or later the fact will be admitted ; 
then, although we shall still pin our faith on Ke- 
ratry or Bourbaki, the disaster will no doubt tend 
to produce a certain degree of discouragement, 
more particularly as it is coupled with the retreat 
of Ducrot's forces from the south bank of the 
Marne. French politicians will insist upon 
dressing up their facts in order to meet the re- 
quirements of the moment, and they never seem 
to consider that so soon as the real state of 



things, comes out there must be an inevitable re- 
action, which will be far more depressing than 
if the truth had been fairly told at once. I hear 
that when Count Moltke's letter arrived, two of 
the members of the Government of National De- 
fense were inclined to accept his offer to verify 
what had occurred on the Loire, but that Gen- 
eral Trochu stated that he intended to resist 
until the last, and that consequently, whether 
Orleans had fallen or not,, was a matter of no 
importance. If Trochu really thinks that a fur- 
ther resistance and a further sacrifice of life will 
materially advance the interests of his country, 
of course he is right to hold out ; but if, disre- 
garding facts, he simply wishes to oblige the 
Prussians to continue the siege, for no purpose 
except to prove his own tenacity, he can not 
be regarded either as a good patriot or a sensi- 
ble man. When the vote on the Plebiscite was 
taken, his majority consisted of "Ouis" which 
were given because it was supposed that he was 
about to treat. Since then we have gone on 
from day to day vaguely hoping that either the 
Neutral Powers or the armies of the provinces 
would get us out of the mess in which we are, 
or, even if these failed us, that by a sortie the 
town would be revictualled. At present none 
believe in the intervention of the Neutrals ; few 
in the success of a sortie ; but all still cling, as 
drowning men do to a straw, to the armies of 
the provinces. To destroy this belief it will be 
necessary for the Prussians to obtain a substan- 
tial advantage not only at Orleans, but over the 
armies of Keratry and Bourbaki. When once 
we find that we are entirely left to our own re- 
sources, and that it is impossible for us to pene- 
trate the lines of investment, I can not help 
thinking that we shall yield to the force of cir- 
cumstances. At present all the newspapers are 
for fighting on as long as we have a crust, re- 
gardless of the consequences; but then, as a 
rule, a besieged town is never so near surrender- 
ing as when it threatens to hang the first man 
who speaks of surrender. The majority would 
even now take a practical view of matters if 
they dared, but Trochu is their man, and Trochu, 
much to their secret sorrow, refuses to hear of a 
capitulation. 

Some German officers who are prisoners on 
parole have been insulted in a restaurant, and 
for their own safety it has been found necessary 
to confine them in La Roquette. I am not sur- 
prised at this. French officers are, of course, 
incapable of this contemptible conduct, and it 
must be owned that the majority of the Paris- 
ians have not, under the trying circumstances 
in which they find themselves, lost that courtesy 
which is one of the peculiar attributes of the 
nation. But there is a scum, who lived from 
hand to mouth during the Empire, and who in- 
fest the restaurants and the public places. Some 
of them wear the uniform of the National Guard; 
others have attached themselves to the ambu- 
lances ; and all take very good care not to risk 
their precious lives. I was peaceably dining 
last night in a restaurant ; a friend with whom 



Di:c. 8th.] 

I had been talking English had left me, and I 
found myself alone with four of these worthies ; 
who were dining at a table near me. For my 
especial benefit they informed each other that all 
strangers here were outlaws from their own coun- 
try, and that the Americans and Italians who 
have established ambulances were in all proba- 
bility Prussian spies. As I took no notice of 
these startling generalities, one of them turned» 
to me and said, "You may look at me, sir, but I 
assert before you that Dr. Evans, the ex-den- 
tist of the Emperor, wa3 a spy." I quietly re- 
marked that, not having the honor to know Dr. 
Evans, and being myself an Englishman, while 
the Doctor is an American, I was not responsi- 
ble for him. "You are a Greek," observed 
another ; "I heard you talk Greek just now." 
I mildly suggested that his knowledge of for- 
eign tongues was, perhaps, somewhat limited. 
" Well, if you are not a Greek," he said, "I 
saw you the other morning near the Ambulance 
of the Press, to which I belong, and so you must 
be a spy." " If you are an Englishman," cried 
his friend, " why do you not go back to your 
own country, and fight Russia?" I replied 
that the idea was an excellent one, but that it 
might, perhaps, be difficult to pass through the 
Prussian lines. "The English Ambassador is 
a friend of mine, and he will give you a pass at 
my request," answered the gentleman who had 
mistaken English for Greek. I thanked him, 
and assured him that I should esteem it a fa- 
vor if he would obtain from his friend Lord 
Lyons this pass for me. He said he would do 
so, as it would be well to rid Paris of such ver- 
min as myself and my countrymen. He has 
not yet, however, fulfilled his promise. Scenes 
such as these are of frequent occurrence at res- 
taurants ; bully and coward are generally syn- 
onymous terms ; any scamp may insult a for- 
eigner now with perfect impunity, for if the for- 
eigner replies he has only to denounce him as a 
spy, when a crowd will assemble, and either set 
on him or bear him off to prison. While, as I 
have already said, nothing can be more court- 
eous than the conduct of French officers, French 
gentlemen, and, unless they are excited, the 
French poorer classes, nothing can be more in- 
solent than that of the third-class dandies who 
reserve their valor for the interior of the town, 
or who, if ever they venture outside of its forti- 
fications, take care to skulk beneath the pro- 
tection of the cross of Geneva. 

The Journal Officiel contains a decree break- 
ing up the battalion of Belleville. These war- 
riors, says their own commander, ran away in 
the presence of the enemy, refused the next day 
to go to the front, and commenced fighting with 
their neighbors from La Villette. M. Gustave 
Flourens, who is the hero of these men of war, 
and who, although exercising no official rank 
in the battalion, insisted upon their accepting 
him as their chief, is to be brought before a 
Council of War. 

My next-door neighbor, Franchetti, died yes- 
terday, and was buried to-day. He was a fine, 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



81 



handsome young man, well off, happily mar- 
ried, and, as the commander of the Eclaireurs 
of the Seine, has done good service during the 
siege. As he was an Israelite, he was follow- 
ed to the grave by the Rothschilds and many 
other of his co-religionists. 

December Sth. 

M. de Sarcey, in the Temps of to-day, enters 
into a lengthy argument to prove that the Pa- 
risians are heroic. " Heroism is positive and 
negative," he says, "and we have, for the sake 
of our country, deprived ourselves during sev- 
eral months of the power to make money, and 
during this time we have existed without many 
of the comforts to which we are accustomed." 
Now, I by no means wish to undervalue the sac- 
rifices of the Parisians, but heroism is not the 
word for them. So long as there are enough 
provisions in the town to enable every one to 
live without feeling the pangs of hunger, they 
have no opportunity to show negative heroism. 
So long as the town is not assaulted, and they 
do not take part in sorties, they can not be said 
to be actively heroic. A blockade such as the 
Prussians have instituted round Paris, is no 
doubt most disagreeable to its inhabitants. In 
submitting to it, undoubtedly they show their 
patriotism and their power of passive endurance. 
Heroism is, however, something more than ei- 
ther patriotism or endurance — it is an excep^ 
tional quality which is rarely found in this; 
world. If the Parisians possessed it, I should, 
admire them ; because they do not, no. one has 
a right to blame them. 

The newspapers have now proved to their 
own complete satisfaction that Count Moltke's 
assertion respecting the defeat of the Army of 
the Loire can only refer to its rear-guard, and 
although no news from without has been re* 
ceived for several days, they insist that the 
greater portion of this army has effected its 
junction with that of Bourbaki. A French 
journalist, even when he is not obliged to do 
so, generally invents his facts, and then reasons 
upon them with wonderful ingenuity. I do not 
know whether the Paris journals get to you 
through the Prussian lines ; if they do not, 
you have little idea how much excellent advice 
you lose. One would think that just at present 
a Parisian would do well to keep his breath to 
cool his own porridge ; such, however, is not 
his opinion. He thinks that he has a mission 
to guide and instruct the world, and this mission 
he manfully fulfills in defiance of Prussians and 
Prussian cannon. It is true that he knows 
rather less of foreign countries than an intelli- 
gent Japanese Daimio may be supposed to 
know of Tipperary, but by some curious law of 
nature, the less he knows of a subject the more 
strongly does he feel impelled to write about it. 
I read a very clever article this morning, point- 
ing out that, if we are not on our guard, our 
empire in India will come to an end by a Rus- 
sian fleet attacking it from the Caspian Sea ; 
and when one thinks how very easy it would 
have been for the author not to write about the 



82 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Dec. 8th. 



Caspian Sea, one is at once surprised and grate- 
ful to him for having called our attention to the 
danger which menaces us in that quarter of the 
globe. 

M. Gnstave Flourens has been arrested, and 
is now in prison. The clubs of the Ultras are 
very indignant at the Government having ac- 
cused the braves of Belleville of cowardice. 
They feel convinced that the "Jesuit" Trochu 
must have introduced some mouchards into the 
band of heroes, who received orders to run 
away, in order to discredit the whole battalion. 
I was in the "Club de la Delivrance" this 
evening. It holds its sittings in the Salle Va- 
lentino — a species of Argyle Rooms in normal 
times. I held up my hand in favor of a resolu- 
tion to call upon the Government to inscribe 
upon marble tablets the names of the National 
Guards who have died in the defense of Paris. 
The resolution was carried unanimously. No 
National Guard has, indeed, yet been good 
enough to die ; but of course this fact was re- 
garded as irrelevant. The next resolution was 
that the concubines of patriots should enjoy the 
same right to rations as legitimate wives. As 
the Club prides itself upon the stern severity of 
its morals, this resolution was not carried. An 
orator then proposed that all strangers should 
be banished from France. He was so exceed- 
ingly lengthy that I did not wait until the end 
of his speech ; I am, therefore, unable to say 
whether his proposal was carried. The Club 
de la Delivrance is by far the most respectable 
public assembly in Paris. Those who take 
part in its proceedings are intensely respecta- 
ble, and as intensely dull and prosy. 

The suppression of gas has been a heavy blow 
to the clubs. The Parisians like gas as much 
as lazzaroni like sunshine. The grandest bursts 
of patriotic eloquence find no response from an 
audience who listen to them beneath half a doz- 
en petroleum lamps. It is somewhat singular, 
but it is not the less certain, that the effect of a 
speech depends very much upon the amount of 
light in the room in which it is delivered. I 
remember once I went down to assist a friend 
of mine in an electioneering campaign in a 
small borough. His opponent was a most worthy 
and estimable squire, who resided in the neigh- 
borhood. It was, of course, my business to 
prove that he was a despicable knave and a 
drivelling idiot. This I was engaged in doing 
at a public meeting in the town-hall. The 
Philippics of Demosthenes were milk and wa- 
ter in comparison with my denunciations — when 
just at the critical moment — as I was carrying 
conviction into the breasts of the stolid Britons 
who were listening to me, the gas flickered and 
went out. Three candles were brought in. I 
recommenced my thunder; but it was of no 
use. The candles utterly destroyed its effect, 
and two days afterwards the squire became an 
M. P., and still is a silent ornament of St. 
Stephen's. 

I trust that England never will be invaded. 
But if it is, we shall do well to profit by the 



: experience of what is occurring here. There 
' must be no English force half citizen half sol- 
dier. All who take part in the national defense 
must submit to the strict discipline of soldiers. 
! A vast amount of money has been laid out in 
' equipping the National Guard. Their pay 
alone amounts to above 20,000 fr. per diem, 
and, as far as the defense of Paris is concerned, 
they might as well have remained quietly by 
their own firesides. There are, no doubt, brave 
men among them, but as their battalions in- 
I sist upon being regarded as citizens even when 
; under arms, they have no discipline, and are 
| little better than an armed mob. The follow- 
ing extract from an article in the last number 
| of the Revue des Deux Mondes gives some in- 
' teresting details respecting their habits when on 
duty behind that most useless of all works of . 
defense, the line of the Paris fortifications : — ■ 
" On the arrival of a battalion, the chief of the 
post arranges the hours during which each man 
j is to be on active duty. After this, the men 
! occupy themselves as they please. Some play 
at interminable games of bouchon ; others, not- 
; withstanding orders to the contrary, turn their 
attention to e'carte and piquet ; others gossip 
I over the news of the day with the artillery-men, 
, who are keeping guard by the side of their can- 
non. Some go away on leave, or disappear 
without leave ; they make excursions beyond 
1 the ramparts, or shut themselves up in the bil- 
liard-room of some cafe. Many make during 
J the course of the day frequent visits to the in- 
numerable canteens, which succeed each other 
j almost without interruption along the Rue des 
Ramparts. Here old women have lit a few 
; sticks under a pot, and sell, for a penny the 
' glass, a horrible brew called 'petit noir,' com- 
posed of sugar, eau de vie, and the grains of 
coffee, boiled up together. Behind there is a 
' line of cook-shops, the proprietors of which an- 
! nounce that they have been commissioned to 
provide food. These speculators offer for sale 
! greasy soup, slices of horse, and every species 
of alcoholic drink. Each company has, too, its 
cantiniere, and round her cart there is always a 
; crowd. It seldom happens that more than one- 
' half of the men of the battalion are sober. For- 
tunately, the cold of the night air sobers them. 
Between eight and nine in the evening there is 
gathering in the tent. A circle is formed in it 
round a single candle, and while the flasks go 
round tale succeeds to song, and song to tale, 
j until at length all fall asleep, and are only in- 
terrupted in their slumbers until morning by 
j the corporal, who once every hour enters and 
calls out the names of those who are to go on 
: the watch. 

" The abuse of strong drink makes shameful 
ravages in our ranks, and is productive of seri- 
| ous disorder. Few nights pass without false 
alarms, without shots foolishly fired upon im- 
aginary enemies, and without lamentable acci- 
dents. Every night there are disputes, which 
often degenerate into fights, and then in the 
morning, when explanations take place, these 



Dec. 15th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



8:3 



very explanations are an excuse for recom- 
mencing drinking. Rules, indeed, are not 
wanting to abate all this, but the misfortune 
is that they are never executed. The indisci- 
pline of the National Guard contrasts strange- 
ly with the patriotism of their words. Most of 
the insubordination may be ascribed to drunk- 
enness, but the mauvais tenue which is so appar- 
ent in too many battalions is due also to many 
other causes. The primary organization of the 
National Guard was ill-conceived and ill-exe- 
cuted, and when the enrollments had been 
made and the battalions formed, day after day 
a fresh series of orders were promulgated, so 
diffuse, so obscure, and so contradictory, that 
the officers, despairing to make head or tail of 
them, gave up any attempt to enforce them." 

The attempt at the last hour to form march- 
ing battalions out of these citizen soldiers, by 
obliging each sedentary battalion to furnish 150 
men, has not been a very successful one. The 
marching battalions, it is true, have been formed, 
but they have not yet been engaged with the en- 
emy ; and it certainly is the opinion of mili- 
tary men that it will be advisable, for the cred- 
it of French arms, to " keep them in reserve" 
during any future engagement which may take 
place. General Cle'ment Thomas has issued a 
series of general orders, from the tenor of which 
it would appear that the system of substitutes 
has been largely practised in these battalions. 
I have myself no doubt of the fact. The fault, 
however, lies with the Government. When 
these battalions were formed, the respective cat- 
egories of unmarried and married men between 
25 and 35, and between 35 and 45, were only to 
be drawn upon in case a sufficient number of 
volunteers were not forthcoming. It became, 
consequently, the interest of the men in these 
categories to encourage volunteering, and this 
was done on a large and liberal scale. The 
Government, if it wanted men, should have 
called to arms all between 25 and 35, and have 
allowed no exemptions. These new levies 
should have been subjected to the same disci- 
pline as the Line and the Mobiles. They must 
now accept the consequences of not having ven- 
tured to take this step. For all operations be- 
yond the enceinte General Trochu's force con- 
sists of the Line and the Mobiles. All that he 
can expect from the Parisians is a " moral sup- 
port." 

December 9th. 

Nothing new. If the Government has re- 
ceived any news from without, it carefully con- 
ceals it. A peasant, the newspapers say, has 
made his way through the Prussian lines, and 
has brought the information that the armies of 
the Loire and of Bourbaki are close to Fon- 
tainebleau. The cry is still that we will resist 
to the last, and for the moment every one seems 
to have forgotten that in a few weeks our pro- 
visions will all have been consumed. If we 
wait to treat until our last crust has been eaten, 
the pinch will come after the capitulation ; for 
with the railroads and the high-roads broken 



up, and the surrounding country devastated, a 
fortnight at least must elapse before supplies, in 
any quantity, can be thrown into the town. 

I hear that the Prussian officers who were 
(says the Journal Officiel) insulted in a cafe' 
have been exchanged. A friend of mine, an 
ex-French diplomatist, was present when the 
scene occurred, and he tells me that the offi- 
cers, who were all young men, were, to say the 
least of it, exceedingly indiscreet. Instead of 
eating their dinner quietly, they indulged in a 
good deal of loud and by no means wise con-* 
versation, and their reYnarks were calculated to 
offend those Frenchmen who heard them. 

December \ffli. 

Still no news from the outer world. I trust 
that M. Jansen, who was dispatched the other 
day in a balloon to witness the eclipse of the 
sun, will be more fortunate in his endeavors to 
discover what is going on in that luminary, 
than we are in ours to learn what is happening 
within twenty miles of us. Search has been 
made to find the peasant who announced that 
he had seen a French army at Corbeil, but this 
remarkable agriculturist is not forthcoming. 
Persons at the outposts say that they heard 
cannon in the direction of Fontainebleau, when 
they put their ears to the ground, but none 
believe them. Four officers, who were taken 
prisoners on the 12th of the month near Or- 
leans, have been sent in, as an exchange for the 
Prussian officers who were insulted at a restau- 
rant, but they are so stupid that it has been im- 
possible to glean any thing from them excepts 
that their division was fighting when they were- 
taken prisoners. A dead, apathetic torpor has 
settled over the town. Even the clubs are de- 
serted. There are no groups of gossips in the 
streets. No one clamors for a sortie, and no 
one either blames or praises Trochu. The 
newspapers still every morning announce that 
victory is not far off. But their influence is 
gone. The belief that the evil day can not be 
far off is gradually gaining ground, and those 
who are in a position to know more accurately 
the precise state of affairs take a still more 
hopeless view of them than the masses. The 
programme of the Government seems to be 
this — to make a sortie in a few days, then to 
fall back beneath the forts ; after this to hold 
out until the provisions are eaten up, and then, 
after having made a final sortie, to capitulate. 
Trochu is entirely in the hands of Ducrot, who, 
with the most enterprising of the officers, in- 
sists that the military honor of the French arms 
demands that there should be more fighting, 
even though success be not only improbable but 
impossible. 

The other day, in a council of war, Trochu 
began to speak of the armies of the provinces. 
"I do not care for your armies of the prov- 
inces," replied Ducrot. Poor Trochu, like 
many weak men, must rely upon some one. 
First it was the neutrals, then it was the armies 
of the provinces, and now it is Ducrot. As for 
his famous plan, that has entirely fallen through. 



84 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Dec. 15th. 



It was based, I understand, upon some impos- 
sible manoeuvres to the north of the Marne. 
The members of the Government of National 
Defense meddle little with the direction of af- 
fairs. M. Picard is openly in favor of treating 
at once. M. Jules Eavre is very downcast ; 
he too wishes to treat, but he can not bring 
himself to consent to a cession of territory. 
Another member of the Government was talk- 
ing yesterday to a friend of mine. He seemed 
to fear that when the people learn that the 
'Stock of provisions is drawing to a close, there 
will be riots. The Government dares not tell 
them the truth. Several members of the Gov- 
ernment, I hear, intend to leave shortly in bal- 
loons, and Trochu, as military Governor of 
Paris, will be left to his own devices. He 
himself says that he never will sign a capitula- 
tion, and it is suggested that when there is no 
more food, the Prussians shall be allowed to 
enter without opposition, without any terms 
having been previously agreed to. The Paris- 
ians are now contending for their supremacy 
over the provinces, and they seem to think that 
if they only hold out until famine obliges them 
to give in, that supremacy will not hereafter be 
disputed. 

It is impossible to give precise data respect- 
ing the store of provisions now in Paris, nor 
even were I able would it be fair to do so. As 
a matter of private opinion, however, I do not 
ihink that it will be possible to prolong the re- 
sistance beyond the first week in January at the 
latest. Last Sunday there were incipient bread- 
riots. By one o'clock all the bakers had closed 
their shops in the outer faubourg. There had 
been a run upon them, because a decree had 
been issued in the morning forbidding flour to 
be sold, and requisitioning all the biscuits in 
stock. Government immediately placarded a 
declaration that bread was not going to be req- 
uisitioned, and the explanation of the morn- 
ing's decree is that flour and not corn has run 
short, but that new steam-mills are being erect- 
ed to meet the difficulty. La Verite, a news- 
paper usually well informed, says that for some 
days past the flour which had been stored in the 
town by M. Clement Duvernois has been ex- 
hausted, and that we are now living on the corn 
and meal which was introduced at the last mo- 
ment from the neighboring departments. It 
pves the following calculation of our resources: 
— flour three weeks, corn three months, salt 
meat fifteen days, horse two months. The mis- 
take of all these calculations seems to be that 
they do not take into account the fact that more 
bread or more corn will be eaten when they be- 
come the sole means of providing for the popu- 
lation. Thus the daily results of flour sold in 
Paris is about one-third above the average. The 
reason is simple, and yet it seems to occur to no 
one. Erench people, more particularly the poor- 
er classes, can exist upon much less than Eng- 
lishmen ; but the prospect for any one blessed 
with a good appetite is by no means reassuring. 
In the Rue Blanche there is a butcher who sells 



: dogs, cats, and rats. He has many customers, 
J but it is amusing to see them sneak into the shop 
after carefully looking round to make sure that 
none of their acquaintances are near. A preju- 
dice has arisen against rats, because the doctors 
J say that their flesh is full of trichina?. I own 
! for my part I have a guilty feeling when I eat 
| dog, the friend of man. I had a slice of a spaniel 
the oiher day ; it was by no means bad — some- 
thing like lamb — but I felt like a cannibal. 
| Epicures in dog-flesh tell me that poodle is by 
! far the best, and recommend me to avoid bull- 
■ dog, which is coarse and tasteless. I really think 
1 that dogs have some means of communicating 
with each other, and have discovered that their 
old friends want to devour them. The hum- 
: blest of street-curs growls when any one looks 
at him. Figaro has a story that a man was fol- 
i lowed for a mile by a party of dogs barking fierce- 
, ly at his heels. He could not understand to what 
their attentions were due, until he remembered 
that he had eaten a rat for his breakfast. The 
j friend of another journalist, who ate a dog called 
Eox, says that whenever any one calls out "Fox" 
he feels an irresistible impulse which forces him 
to jump up. As every Christmas a number of 
books are published containing stories about 
dogs as remarkable as they are stale, I recom- 
mend to their authors these two veracious tales. 
Their veracity is guaranteed by Parisian jour- 
nalists. Can better evidence be required? 

We are already discussing who will be sent to 
Germany. "We suppose that the army and the 
Mobiles, and perhaps the officers of the Nation- 
al Guard, will have to make the journey. One 
thing I do hope, that the Prussians will convey 
across the Rhine all the Parisian journalists, 
and keep them there until they are able to pass 
an elementary examination in the literature, the 
politics, the geography, and the domestic econo- 
my of Germany. A little foreign travel would 
do these blind leaders of the blind a world of 
good, and on their return they would perhaps 
have cleared their mind of their favorite delu- 
sion that civilization is coterminous with the 
frontiers pf France. 

How M. Picard provides for the financial re- 
quirements of his colleagues is a mystery. The 
cost of the siege amounts in hard cash to about 
£20,000,000. To meet the daily draw on the 
Exchequer no public loan has been negotiated, 
and nothing is raised by taxation. The month- 
ly installments which have been paid on the 
September loan can not altogether amount to 
very much, consequently the greater portion of 
this large sum can only have been obtained by 
a loan from the bank and by bons de tresor (ex- 
chequer bills). What the proportion between 
the bank loan and the bons de tresor in circula- 
tion is, I am unable to ascertain. M. Picard, 
like all finance ministers, groans daily over the 
cost of the prolongation of the siege, and it cer- 
tainly appears a very doubtful question wheth- 
er France will really benefit by Paris being at 
its expense for another month. 

Military matters remain in statu quo. The 



Dec. 18th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IX PARIS. 



army is camped in the wood of Vincenncs. The 
forts occasionally fire. The Prussians seem to 
be of opinion that our next sortie will be in the 
plain of Genevilliers, as they are working hard 
on their fortifications along their lines between 
St. Denis and St. Cloud, and they have replaced 
the levies of the smaller States by what we call 
here "real" Prussians. Our engineer officers 
consider that the Prussians have three lines of 
investment ; the first comparatively weak ; the 
second composed of strategical lines, by which 
a force of 40,000 men can be brought on any 
point within two hours ; the third consisting of 
redoubts which would prevent artillery getting 
by them. To invest a large town, say our offi- 
cers, is not so difficult a task as it would appear 
at first sight. Artillery can only move along 
roads, and consequently all that is necessary is 
to occupy the roads solidly. General Blan- 
chard has been removed from his command, 
and is to be employed in the Third Army under 
Vinoy. His dispute with Ducrot arose from a 
remark which the latter made respecting offi- 
cers who did not remain with their men after a 
battle ; as Blanchard had been in Paris the day 
before, he took this general stricture to himself. 
Personalities of a very strong nature were ex- 
changed between the two warriors, and it was 
thought well that henceforward they should, as 
much as possible, be kept apart. General Fave 
also, who commanded the redoubt near Join- 
ville, which arrested the advance of the Prus- 
sians on the second battle of Villiers, has " had 
words." It appears that he declined to obey 
an order which was forwarded to him, on the 
ground of its absurdity, saying that he was re- 
sponsible to his conscience. Indiscipline has 
been the curse of the French army since the 
commencement of the war, and it will continue 
to be so to the end. During the siege there 
have been many individual traits of heroism, 
but the armed force has been little better than 
a mob, and Trochu has not had the moral cour- 
age to enforce his will on his generals. Ducrot 
says that he is determined to take the war bat- 
talions of the National Guards under fire at the 
next sortie, but whether he will succeed remains 
to be seen. In these marching battalions there 
are undoubtedly many brave men; but both of- 
ficers and soldiers are inexperienced, and. when 
they see men falling before them, struck down 
by an invisible enemy, they lose all presence of 
mind. 

I do not think, as far as regards the Paris- 
ians, Count Bismarck is right in his opinion 
that the French will for many years to come at- 
tempt to reverse the verdict of the present war. 
The Parisian bourgeois is fond of saving mon- 
ey. As long as war meant a military prome- 
nade of the army across the Rhine, followed 
by a triumphal entry into Paris, he was by no 
means averse to it, for he considered that a 
French victory reflected itself on him, and made 
him a hero in the eyes of the world. Now, how- 
ever, that he has discovered that there is a re- 
verse to this picture, and that it may very pos- 



sibly mean ruin to himself, he will be very cau- 
tious before he again risks the hazard of the 
die. Should the disasters of France result in 
the emancipation of the provinces from the rule 
of Paris, they will be a positive benefit to the 
nation. If the thirty-eight million Frenchmen 
outside Paris are such fools as to allow them- 
selves to be ruled by the two million amiable, 
ignorant, bragging humbugs who are within it, 
France will most deservedly cease to be a pow- 
er of Europe. If this country is to recover from 
the ruin in which it is overwhelmed, it is abso- 
lutely essential that Paris should cease to be its 
political capital, and that the Parisians should 
not have a greater share in moulding its future 
policy than they are numerically entitled to. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

December ISth. 
Prisoners have before now endeavored to 
while away their long hours of captivity by 
watching spiders making their webs. I can 
understand this. In the dreary monotony of 
this dreariest of sieges a spider would be an 
everlt. But alas, the spider is outside, and we 
are the fly caught in his toils. Never did time 
hang so heavily on human beings as it hangs 
on us. Every day seems to have twice the 
usual number of hours. I have ceased to 
wind up my watch for many a week. I got 
tired of looking at it ; and whether it is ten in 
the morning or two in the afternoon is much 
the same to me ; almost every one has ceased 
to shave; they say that a razor so near their 
throats would be too great a temptation. Some 
have married to avoid active service, others to 
pass the time. " When I knew that there was 
an army between my wife and myself," ob- 
served a cynic to me yesterday, "I rejoiced, 
but even the society of my wife would be bet- 
ter than this." There is a hideous old woman, 
like unto one of Macbeth's witches, who makes 
my bed. I had a horrible feeling that some 
day or other I should marry her, and I have 
been considerably relieved by discovering that 
she has a husband and several olive branches. 
Here is my day : In the morning the boots 
comes to call me. He announces the number 
of deaths which have taken place in the hotel 
during the night. If there are many he is 
pleased, as he considers it creditable to the es- 
tablishment. He then relieves his feelings by 
shaking his fist in the direction of Versailles, 
and exit growling "Canaille de Bismarck." I 
get up. ' I have breakfast — horse, cafe au lait 
— the lait chalk and water. The portion of 
horse about two square inches of the noble 
quadruped; then I buy a dozen newspapers, 
and, after having read them, discover that they 
contain nothing new. This brings me to about 
eleven o'clock. Friends drop in, or I drop in 
on friends. We discuss how long it is to last 
— if friends are French we agree that we are 
sublime. At one o'clock get into the circular 



86 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Dec. 21st. 



railroad, and go to one or other of the city 
gates. After a discussion with the National 
Guards on duty, pass through. Potter about 
for a couple of hours at the outposts ; try with 
glass to make out Prussians; look at bombs 
bursting; creep along the trenches; and wade 
knee-deep in mud through the fields. The 
Prussians, who have grown of late malevolent 
even towards civilians, occasionally send a ball 
far over one's head. They always fire too 
high. French soldiers are generally cooking 
food. They are anxious for news, and know 
nothing about what is going on. As a rule, 
they relate the episode of some combat cCavant- 
goste which took place the day before. The 
episodes never vary. Five p.m. — Get back 
home ; talk to doctors about interesting surgic- 
al operations ; then drop in upon some official 
to interview him about what is doing. Official 
usually first mysterious, then communicative, 
not to say loquacious, and abuses most people 
except himself. 7 p.m. — Dinner at a restau- 
rant ; conversation general ; almost every one 
in uniform. Still the old subjects — How long 
will it last ? "Why does not Gambetta write 
more clearly ? How sublime we are ; what a 
fool every one else is. Food scanty, but pecul- 
iar. At Voisins to-day the bill of fare was 
ass, horse, and English wolf from the Zoolog- 
ical Garden. A Scotchman informed me that 
this latter was a fox of his native land, and 
patriotically gorged himself with it. I tried it, 
and, not being a Scotchman, found it horrible, 
and fell back upon the patient ass. After din- 
ner, potter on the Boulevards under the dispir- 
iting gloom of petroleum ; go home and read a 
book. 12 p.m. — Bed. They nail up the coffins 
in the room just over mine every night, and the 
tap, tap, tap, as they drive in the nails, is the 
pleasing music which lulls me to sleep. Now, 
I ask, after having endured this sort of thing 
day after day for three months, can I be ex- 
pected to admire Geist, Germany, or Mr. Mat- 
thew Arnold ? I sigh for a revolution, for a 
bombardment, for an assault, for any thing 
which would give us a day's excitement. 

I inclose you Gambetta's latest pigeon dis- 
patch. His style is so grandiloquently vague 
that we can make neither head nor tail of it. 
We can not imagine what has become of Au- 
relle de Paladine and of the army of Ke'ra- 
try. The optimists say that it means that 
Bourbaki and Chanzy have surrounded Fred- 
erick Charles ; the pessimists say that Frederick 
Charles has got between them. The general 
feeling seems to be that the provinces are do- 
ing more than was expected of them, but that 
they will fail to succor us. Here some of the 
newspapers urge Trochu to make a sortie, in 
order to prevent reinforcements being sent to 
Frederick Charles ; others deprecate it as a use- 
less waste of life. General Clement Thomas, 
who succeeded Tamisier about a month ago in 
the command of the National Guards, seems to 
be the right man in the right place. He is 
making great efforts to convert these citizens 



into soldiers, and stands no nonsense. Not a 
day passes without some patriotic captain being 
tried by court-martial for drunkenness or diso- 
bedience. If a battalion misbehaves itself, it 
is immediately gibbeted in the order of the day. 
The newspapers cry out against this. They 
say that Cle'ment Thomas forgets that the Na- 
tional Guards are his children, and that dirty 
linen ought to be washed at home. "If this 
goes on, posterity," they complain, " will say 
that we were little more than a mob of undisci- 
plined drunkards." I am afraid that Clement 
Thomas will not have time to carry out his re- 
forms ; had they been commenced earlier, there 
is no reason why Paris should not have had on 
foot 100,000 good troops. 

Mr. Herbert tells me that there are now 
above 1000 persons on the English fund, and 
that every w r eek there are about thirty new ap- 
plications. Unknown and mysterious English 
emerge from holes and corners every day. Mr. 
Herbert thinks that there can not be less than 
3000 of them still in Paris, almost all destitute. 
The French Government sold him a short time 
ago 30,000 lbs. of rice, and this, with the choc- 
olate and Liebig which he has in hand, will last 
him for about three weeks. If the siege goes 
on longer it is difficult to know how all these 
poor people will live. Funds are not absolute- 
ly wanting, but it is doubtful whether even with 
money it will be possible to buy any thing be- 
yond bread, if that. Mr. Herbert thinks that it 
would be most desirable to send, if possible, a 
provision of portable food, such as Liebig's ex- 
tract of meat, as near to Paris as possible ; so 
that, whenever the siege ceases, it may at once 
be brought into the town, as otherwise it is 
very probable that many of these English will 
die of starvation before food can reach them. 
It does seem to me perfectly monstrous that 
for years we should have, in addition to an em- 
bassy, kept a consul here, and that he should 
have been allowed to go off on leave to some 
watering-place at the very moment at which his 
services were most required. When the em- 
bassy left, a sort of deputy-consul remained 
here ; but with a perfect ingenuity of stupidity, 
the Foreign-office officials ordered this gentle- 
man to withdraw with Mr. Wodehouse, the sec- 
retary. Heine said of his fellow-countrymen, 
"They are born stupid, and a bureaucratic ed- 
ucation makes them wicked." Had he been 
an Englishman instead of a Prussian he would 
have said the same, and with even more truth, 
of certain persons whom not for worlds would I 
name, but who do not reside one hundred miles 
from Downing Street. 

December 21sL 

When the Fenians in the United States med- 
itate a raid upon Canada, they usually take 
very great care to allow their intentions to be 
known. Our sorties are much like these Hi- 
bernian surprises. If the Prussians do not 
know when we are about to attack, they can 
not complain that it is our fault. The "Apres 
vous, Messieurs les Anglais," still forms the 



Dec. 21st.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



87 



chivalrous but somewhat naif tactics of the 
Gauls. On Sunday, as a first step to military 
operations, the gates of the city Avere closed to 
all unprovided with jesses. On Monday a 
grand council of generals and admirals took 
place at the Palais Royal. Yesterday and all 
last night drums were beating, trumpets were 
blowing, and troops were marching through the 
streets. The war battalions of the National 
Guard, in their new uniforms, spick and span, 
were greeted with shouts, to which they replied 
by singing a song, the chorus of which is "Vive 
la guerre, Piff-Paff," and which has replaced 
the "Marseillaise." As the ambulances had 
been ordered to be ready to start at six in the 
morning, I presumed that business would com- 
mence at an early hour, and I ordered myself 
to be called at 5 30. I was called, and got out 
of my bed, but, alas for noble resolutions ! hav- 
ing done so, I got back again into it and re- 
mained between the sheets, quietly enjoying 
that sleep which is derived from the possession 
of a good conscience and a still better diges- 
tion, until the clock struck nine. 

It was not until past eleven o'clock that I 
found myself on the outside of the gate of La 
Villette, advancing, as Grouchy should have 
done at Waterloo, in the direction of the sound 
of the cannon. From the gate a straight road 
runs to Le Bourget, having the Fort of Auber- 
villiers on the right, and St. Denis on the left. 
Between-the fort and the gate there were sev- 
eral hundred ambulance-wagons, and above a 
thousand "brancardiers," stamping their feet 
and blowing on their fingers to keep themselves 
warm. In the fields on each side of the road 
there were numerous regiments of Mobiles 
drawn up ready to advance if required. Le 
Bourget, every one said, had been taken in the 
morning, our artillery was on ahead, and we 
were carrying every thing before us, so to- 
wards Le Bourget I advanced. About a mile 
from Le Bourget, there is a cross-road running 
to St. Denis through Courneuve. Here I found 
the barricade which had formed our most ad- 
vanced post removed. Le Bourget seemed to 
be on fire. Shells were falling into it from the 
Prussian batteries, and, as well as I could make 
out, our forts were shelling it too. Our artil- 
lery was on a slight rise to the right of Le 
Bourget, in advance of Drancy; and in the 
fields between Drancy and this rise, heavy 
masses of troops were drawn up in support. 
Officers assured me that Le Bourget was still 
in our possession, and that if I felt inclined to 
go there, there was nothing to prevent me. I 
confess I am not one of those persons who snuff 
up the battle from afar, and feel an irresistible 
desire to rush into the middle of it. To be 
knocked on the head by a shell, merely to grat- 
ify one's curiosity, appears to me to be the 
utmost height of absurdity. Those who put 
themselves between the hammer and the anvil 
come off generally second best, and I deter- 
mined to defer my visit to the interesting vil- 
lage before, me until the question whether it was 



to belong to Gaul or Teuton had been definite- 
ly decided. So I turned off to the left and went 
to St. Denis. 

Here every body was in the streets, asking 
every body else for news. The forts all round 
it were firing heavily. On the Place before 
the Cathedral there was a great crowd of men, 
women, and children. The sailors, who are 
quartered here in great numbers, said that they 
had carried Le Bourget early in the morning, 
but that they had been obliged to fall back, 
with the loss of about a third of their number. 
Most of them had hatchets by their sides, and 
they attack a position much as if they were 
boarding a ship. About 100 prisoners had 
been brought into the town in the morning, as 
well as two Freres Chretiens, who had been 
wounded, and for whom the greatest sympathy 
was expressed. Little seemed to be known of 
what was passing. "The Prussians will be 
here in an hour," shouted one man. "The 
Prussians are being exterminated," shouted an- 
other. "What is this?" cried the crowd, as 
Monseigneur Bauer, the bishop in partibas in- 
fiddium of some place or other, now came rid- 
ing along with his staff. He held up his two 
fingers, and turned his hand right and left. 
His pastoral blessing was, however, but a half 
success. The women crossed themselves, and 
the men muttered "farceur." The war which 
is now raging has produced many oddities, but 
none to my mind equal to this bishop. His 
great object is to see and be seen, and most 
thoroughly does he succeed in his object. He 
is a short, stout man, dressed in a cassock, a 
pair of jack-boots with large spurs, and a hat 
such as you would only see at the opera. On 
his breast he wears a huge star. Round his 
neck is a chain, with a great golden cross at- 
tached to it ; and on his fingers, over his gloves, 
he wears gorgeous rings. The trappings of his 
horse are thickly sprinkled with Geneva crosses. 
By his side rides a standard-bearer, bearing aloft 
a flag with a red cross. Eight aids-de-camp, 
arrayed in a sort of purple and gold fancy uni- 
form, follow him, and the cortege is closed by 
two grooms in unimpeachable tops. In this 
guise, and followed by this etat major, he is a 
conspicuous figure upon a field of battle, and 
produces much the same effect as the head of a 
circus riding into a town on a piebald horse, 
surrounded by clowns and pets of the ballet. 
He was the confessor of the Empress, and is 
now the aumonier of the Press ; but why he 
wears jack-boots, why he capers about on a 
fiery horse, why he has a staff of aids-de-camp, 
and why he has two grooms, are things which 
no one seems to know. He patronizes generals 
and admirals, doctors and commissariat officers, 
and they submit to be patronized by him. Half- 
priest, half-buffoon, something of a Friar Tuck 
and something of a Louis XV. abbe, he is a sort 
of privileged person, who by the mere force of 
impudence has made his way in the world. 
Most English girls in their teens fall in love 
with a curate and a cavalry officer. Monseign- 



88 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Dec. 21st. 



eur Bauer, who combines in himself the unct- 
uous curate and the dashing dragoon, is adored 
by the fair sex in Paris. He knows how to 
adapt his conversation to the most opposite 
kind of persons, and I should not be surprised 
if he becomes a Cardinal before he dies. 

The arrival of Dr. Ricord was the next event. . 
He was in a basket pony-chaise, driving two po- 
nies not much larger than rats. A pole about . 
twelve feet high, bearing the flag of the Geneva 
Cross, was stuck beside him, and it was knock- 
ing against the telegraph-wires which ran along 
the street. The eminent surgeon was arrayed j 
in a long coat buttoned up to his chin and com- 
ing down to his feet. On his head was a kepi 
which was far too large for him. He looked 
like one of those wooden figures of Noah, when 
that patriarch with his family is lodged in a 
child's ark. Having inspected the bishop and , 
the doctor with respectful admiration, and in- ! 
stituted a search for some bread and wine, I 
thought it was time to see what was going on 
outside. On emerging from St. Denis, every ! 
thing except the guns of the forts appeared . 
quiet. I had not, however, gone far in the di- 
rection of Le Bourget, which was still burning, 
when I was stopped by a regiment marching 
towards St. Denis, some of the officers of which ' 
told me that the village had been retaken by 
the Prussians — the artillery, too, which I had 
left on the rise before Drancy, had disappeared. 
At a farm-yard close by Drancy I saw Ducrot 
and his staff. The General had his hood drawn 
over his head, and both he and his aid-de-camp 
looked so glum, that I thought it just as well 
not to congratulate him upon the operations of 
the day. In and behind Drancy there Were a 
large number of troops, who I heard Were to 
camp there during the night. None seemed 
exactly to know what had happened. The of- j 
ficers and soldiers were not in good spirits. ' 
On my return into Paris, however, I found the 
following proclamation of the Government post- 
ed on the walls: — " 2 p.m.— The attack com- 
menced this morning by a great deployment 
from Mont Valerien to Nogoait ; the combat has 
commenced and continues everywhere, with fa- 
vorable chances for us. — Schmitz." The peo- 
ple on the Boulevards seem to imagine that a 
great victory has been gained. When one asks 
them where? They answer " everywhere." I 
can only answer myself for what occurred at Le 
Bourget. I hear that Vinoy has occupied No- 
gent, on the north of the Marne ; the resistance he 
encountered could not, however, have been very 
great, as only seven wounded have been brought 
into this hotel, and only one to the American 
ambulance. General Trochu announced this 
morning that 100 battalions of the National 
Guards are outside the walls, and I shall be 
curious to learn how they conduct themselves 
under fire. Far be it from me to say that they 
will not fight like lions. If they do, however, 
it will surprise most of the military men with 
whom I have spoken on the subject. As yet 
all they have done has been to make frequent 



"pacts with death," to perform unauthorized 
strategical movements to the rear whenever 
they have been sent to the front, to consume 
much liquor, to pillage. houses, and — to put it 
poetically — toy with Amaryllis in the trench, 
or with the tangles of Nereus's hair. Their 
General, Clement Thomas, is doing his best to 
knock them into shape, but I am afraid that it 
is too late. There are cases in which, in defi- 
ance of the proverb, it is too late to mend. 

Officers in a position to know assure me 
that no really serious sortie will be made, but 
that after two or three days of the sham fights, 
such as took place to-day, the troops will quiet- 
ly return into Paris. The object of General 
Trochu is, they say, to amuse the Parisians, 
and, if he can by hook or by crook get the Na- 
tional Guard under the mildest of fires, to cele- 
brate their heroism, in order that they may re- 
turn the compliment. I can not, however, be- 
lieve that no attempt will be made to fight a 
battle ; the troops are now massed from St. 
Denis to the Marne ; within two hours they 
can all be brought to any point along this line, 
and I should imagine that either to-morrow or 
the next day something will be done in the di- 
rection of the Forest of Bondy. Trochu, it is 
daily felt more strongly, even by calm, temper- 
ate men, is not the right man in the right place. 
He is a respectable literary man, utterly unfit 
to cope with the situation. His great aim 
seems now to be to curry favor with the Paris- 
ian population by praising in all his proclama- 
tions the National Guards, and ascribing to 
them a courage of which as yet they have given 
no proof. This, of course, injures him with the 
Line and the Mobiles, who naturally object to 
their being called upon to do all the fighting, 
whilst others are luuded for it. The officers all 
swear by Vinoy, and hold the military capacity 
both of Trochu and Ducrot very cheap. In the 
desperate strait to which Paris is reduced, some- 
thing more than a man estimable for his pri- 
vate virtues and his literary attainments is re- 
quired. Trochu, as we are frequently told, 
gave up his brougham in order to adopt his 
nephews. Richard III. killed his ; but these 
are domestic questions, only interesting to neph- 
ews, and it by no means follows that Richard 
III. would not have been a better defender of 
Paris than Trochu has proved himself to be. 
His political aspirations and his military com- 
binations are in perpetual conflict. He is ever 
sacrificing the one to the other, and, consequent- 
ly, he fails both as a general and as a states- 
man. 

In order to form an opinion with regard to 
the condition of the poorer classes, I went yes- 
terday into some of the back slums in the neigh- 
borhood of the Boulevard de Clichy. The dis- 
tress is terrible. Women and children, half 
starved, were seated at their door-steps, with 
hardly clothes to cover them decently. They 
said that, as they had neither fire-wood nor 
coke, they were warmer out-of-doors than in- 
doors, Many of the National Guards, instead 



Dec. 23d.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



SO 



of bringing their money home to their families, 
spent it in drink ; and there are many families, 
composed entirely of women and children, who, 
in this land of bureaucracy, are apparently left 
to starve while it is decided to what category 
they belong. The citizen Mottu, the Ultra- 
Democratic Mayor, announced that in his ar- 
rondissement all left-handed marriages are to 
be regarded as valid, and the left-handed 
spouses of the National Guards are to receive 
the allowance which is granted to the legitimate 
wives of these warriors. But a new difficulty 
has arisen. Left-handed polygamy prevails to 
a great extent among the Citizen Mottu's ad- 
mirers. Is a lady who has five husbands en- 
titled to five rations, and is a lady who only 
owns the fifth of a National Guard to have only 
one-fifth of a ration? These are questions 
which the Citizen Mottu is now attempting to 
solve. As for the future, he has solved the 
matrimonial question by declining to celebrate 
marriages, because, he says, this bond is an in- 
sult upon those who prefer to ignore it. As re- 
gards marriage, consequently — and that alone — 
his arrondissement resembles the kingdom of 
heaven. 

I went to see, yesterday, what was going on 
in the house of a friend of mine in the Avenue 
de l'lmperatrice, who has left Paris. The 
servant who was in charge told me that up there 
they had been unable to obtain bread for three 
days, and that the last time that he had pre- 
sented his ration-ticket he had been given about 
half an inch of cheese. "How do you live, 
then?" I asked. After looking mysteriously 



off our hat and to cry 'Vive la France.' " Tic 
Electeur Libre is still more enraptured with the 
situation. It particularly admires the petrole- 
um lamp, so different, it says, to those orgies 
of light, which under the tyrant, in the form of 
gas, gave a fictitious vitality to Paris. The Com- 
bat points out that no fires have broken out since 
September 4 — a coincidence which is ascribed 
to the existence since that date of a Repub- 
lican form of government. I recommend this 
curious phenomenon to insurance companies. 
The newspapers, one and all, are furious, be- 
cause they hear that the Prussians contest our 
two victories at Villiers. " How singular," ob- 
serves the Figaro, with plaintive morality, "is 
this rage, this necessity for lying." It is noto- 
rious that, having gained two glorious victories, 
Ave returned into Paris to repose on our laurels, 
and I must beg the Prussians not to be so mean 
as to contest the fact. 

December 23(?. 
Since Wednesday the troops— Line, Mobiles, 
and marching battalions of the National Guard 
— have remained outside the enceinte. There 
has been a certain amount of spade-work at 
Drancy, but beyond this absolutely, nothing. 
The cold is very severe. This afternoon I was 
outside in the direction, of Le Bourget. The 
soldiers had lit large fires to warm themselves. 
Some of them were lodged in empty houses, but 
most of them had only their little tentcs oVabri 
to shelter them. The sentinels were stamping 
their feet in the almost vain endeavor to keep 
their blood in circulation. There have been 
numerous frost-bitten cases. When it is con- 



round to see that no one was watching us, he sidered that almost all of these troops might, 
took me down into the cellar, and pointed to without either danger to the defense or with- 
some meat in barrel. "It is half a horse," he ; out compromising the offensive operations, have 
said, in the tone of a man who is showing some ( been marched back into Paris, and quartered in 



one the corpse of his murdered victim. "A 
neighboring coachman killed him, and we salt- 
ed him down and divided it." Then he open- 
ed a closet in which sat a huge cat. "I am 
fattening her up for Christmas-day ; we mean to 
serve her up surrounded with mice, like sau- 
sages," he observed. Many Englishmen regard 
it as a religious duty to eat turkey at Christmas, 
but fancy fulfilling this duty by devouring cat! 
It is like an Arab in the desert, who can not 
wash his hands when he addresses his evening 
prayer, and makes shift with sand. This re- 



the barracks which have been erected along the 
outer line of Boulevards, it seems monstrous 
cruelty to keep them freezing outside. The 
operations, however, on Wednesday are regard- 
ed as very far short of a success. General Tro- 
chu does not venture, in the state of public opin- 
ion, to bring the troops back into Paris, and thus 
confess a failure. The ambulances are order- 
ed out to-morrow morning ; but I can not help 
thinking that the series of operations which were 
with great beating of drums announced to have 
commenced on Wednesday, will be allowed grad- 



minds me that some antiquarian has discovered ually to die out, without any thing further taking 
that in eating horse we are only reverting to the | place. The National Guards are camped in the 
habits of the ancient Gauls. Before the Chris- ' neighborhood of Bondy and Rosny. They have 
tian religion was introduced into the country, j again, greatly to the disgust of the Mobiles and 
the Druids used to sacrifice horses, which were j Line, been congratulated in a general order upon 
afterwards eaten. Christianity put an end to | their valorous bearing. As a matter of fact, 
these sacrifices, and horse-flesh then went out 
of fashion. 

La France thus speaks of the last dispatch of 
Gambetta: — "At length we have received offi- 
cial news from Tours. We read the dispatch 
feverishly, then we read it a second time with 
respect, with admiration, with enthusiasm. We 
are asked our opinion respecting it. Before an- 



there was a panic among these braves which 
nearly degenerated into a rout. Several bat- 
talions turned tail, under the impression that 
the Prussians were going to attack them. One 
battalion did not stop until it had found shelter 
within the walls of the town. General Trochu's 
attempt, for political ends, to force greatness 
upon these heroes, is losing him the good-will 
swering, we feel an irresistible impulse to take \ of the army. On Wednesday and Thursday sev- 



90 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Dec. 24th. 



eral regiments of the Line and of the Mohiles 
bitterly complained that they should always be 
ordered to the front to protect not only Paris 
but the National Guards. The marching bat- 
talions are composed of unmarried men between 
twenty-five and thirty-five, and why they should 
not be called upon to incur the same risks, and 
submit to the same discipline as the Mobiles, it 
is difficult to understand. "We may learn from 
the experience of this siege that, in war, armed 
citizens who decline to submit to the discipline 
of soldiers are worse than useless. The lesson, 
however, has not profited the Parisians. The 
following letter appears in the Combat, signed 
by the " adjoint " of the 13th arrondissement. 
The defense on the part of this municipal func- 
tionary of a marching battalion which, at the 
outposts, broke into a church, and there parodied 
the celebration of the mass, is a gem in its way : 

"The marching companies of this battalion 
left Paris on the morning of the 16th to go to 
the outposts at Issy. The departure was what 
all departures of marching battalions must fatal- 
ly be — copious and multiplied libations between 
parting friends, paternal hand-shakings in cab- 
arets, patriotic and bacchic songs, loose and in- 
decent choruses — in a word, the picturesque ex- 
hibition of all that arsenal of gayety and cour- 
age which is the appanage of an ancient Gallic 
race. The old troopers, who pretend to govern 
us by the sword, do not approve of this joyous 
mode of regarding death ; and all the writers 
whose pens are dipped in the ink of reaction 
and Jesuitism are eager to discover any eccen- 
tricity in which soldiers who are going under 
fire for the first time permit themselves to in- 
dulge. The Intendance, with that intelligence 
which characterizes our military administra- 
tions, had put off the departure of the battalion 
for several hours. What were the men to do 
whilst they were kept waiting, except drink? 
This is what these brave fellows did. Mars, 
tired of Venus, sung at the companionship of 
Bacchus. If the God of Wine too well second- 
ed the God of "War, it is only water-drinkers 
who can complain ; it is not for us, Republicans 
of the past and of the future, to throw stones at 
good citizens in order to conceal the misconduct 
of the old Bonapartist Administration which still 
is charged with the care of our armies." 

General Blaise has been killed at Villa Ev- 
rard. These buildings, which go by this name, 
were occupied on Wednesday by General Vi- 
noy's troops. In the night a number of Prus- 
sians, who had concealed themselves in the cel- 
lars, emerged, and a hand-to-hand fight took 
place. Some of the Prussians in the confu- 
sion got away, and some were killed. Several 
French officers who ran away and rushed in a 
panic into the presence of General Vinoy, who 
was at Fort Rosney, announcing that all was 
lost, are to be tried by Court-martial. The 
troops when they heard this were very indig- 
nant; but old Vinoy rode along the line, and 
told them that they might think what they 
pleased, but that he would have no cowards 



serving under him. Pity that he is not Gener- 
al-in-chief. 

A curious new industry has sprung up in Par- 
is. Letters supposed to be found in the pockets 
of dead Germans are in great request. There 
are letters from mothers, from sisters, and from 
the Gretchens who are, in the popular mind, 
supposed to adore warriors. Unless every 
corpse has half a dozen mothers, and was loved 
when in the flesh by a dozen sweethearts, many 
of these letters must be fabricated. They vary 
in their style very little. The German moth- 
ers give little domestic details about the life at 
home, and express the greatest dread lest their 
sons should fall victims to the valor of the Pa- 
risians, which is filling the Fatherland with ter- 
ror and admiration. The Gretchens are all 
sentimental ; they talk of their inner feelings 
like the heroines of third-rate novels, send the 
object of their affections cigars and stockings 
knitted by their own fair hands, and implore 
him to be faithful, and not forget, in the toils 
of some French syren, poor Gretchen. But 
what is more strange is that in the pocket of 
each corpse a reply is found which he has for- 
gotten to post. In this reply the warrior tells 
a fearful tale of his own sufferings, and says 
that victory is impossible, because the National 
Guards are such an invincible band. 

The number of the wounded in my hotel has 
considerably diminished, owing to the deaths 
among them. For the Societe Internationale 
to have made it their central ambulance was a 
great mistake. Owing to the want of ventila- 
tion, the simplest operations are usually fatal. 
Four out of five of those who have an arm or a 
leg amputated die of pyaemia. Now, as in the 
American tents four out of five recover; and as 
French surgeons are as skillful as American sur- 
geons, the average mortality in the two ambu- 
lances is a crucial proof of the advantage of the 
American tent system. Under their tents there 
is perfect ventilation, and yet the air is not cold. 
If their plan were universally adopted in hospi- 
tals, it is probable that many lives which are now 
sacrificed to the gases which are generated from 
operations, and which find no exit from build- 
ings of stone or brick, would be saved. "Our 
war," said an American surgeon to me the oth- 
er day, " taught us that a large number of cubic 
inches of air is not enough for a sick man, but 
that the air must be perpetually renewed by 
ventilation." 

December Itth. 

The papers publish extracts from German 
newspapers which have been found in the pock- 
ets of the prisoners who were taken on Wednes- 
day. The news from the provinces is not con- 
sidered encouraging. Great stress is laid upon 
a proclamation addressed by King William to 
his troops on December 6, in which it is consid- 
ered that there is evidence that the Prussians 
are getting tired of the war. We hear now, for 
the first time, that Prussia has "denounced" 
the Luxemburg Treaty of '67, and forgetting 
that the guarantee of neutrality with respect to 



Dec. 25th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



91 



these lotus-eaters was collective, and not joint 
and several, we anxiously ask whether England 
will not regard this as a casus belli. "As soon 
as Parliament assembles," says La Vcrite, "that 
great statesman Disraeli will turn out Mr. Glad- 
stone, and then our old ally will be restored to 
us." The CauZois observes that "the English 
journalists residing at Paris keep up the illu- 
sion that Paris must fall by sending to their 
journals false news, which is reproduced in the 
organs of Prussia." " These journalists," adds 
the Gaulois, "who are our guests, fail in those 
duties which circumstances impose upon them." 
Every correspondent residing abroad must be 
the guest, in a certain sense, of the country 
from which he is writing ; but that this posi- 
tion should oblige him to square his facts to 
suit the wishes of his hosts appears to me a 
strange theory. Had I been M. Jules Favre, 
I confess that I should have turned out all for- 
eign journalists at the commencement of the 
siege. He, however, expressed a wish that 
they should remain in Paris, and his fellow-cit- 
izens must not now complain that they decline 
to indorse the legend which, very probably, 
will be handed down to future generations of 
Frenchmen as the history of the siege of Paris. 
The Prussians will not raise the siege for any 
thing either French or English journalists say. 
The Parisians themselves must perceive that 
the attempt to frighten their enemies away by 
drum-beating and trumpet-blowing has signal- 
ly failed. Times have altered since Jericho. 
It is telling the Prussians nothing new to in- 
form them that the National Guard are poor 
troops. For my part, nothing would give me 
greater pleasure than to learn some morning 
that the German armies round Paris had met 
with the fate which overwhelmed Sennacherib 
and his hosts. I should be delighted to be able 
to hope that the town will not eventually be 
forced to capitulate; but I can not conceal 
from myself the truth that, if no succor comes 
from without, it must eventually fall. I blame 
the French journalists for perpetually drawing 
upon their imagination for their facts, and in 
their boasts of Avhat France will do, not keep- 
ing within the bounds of probability ; but I do 
not blame them for hoping against hope that 
their armies will be successful. I am ready to 
admit that the Parisians have shown a most 
stubborn tenacity, and that they have disap- 
pointed their enemies in not cutting each oth- 
er's throats ; but this is no reason why I should 
assert that they are sublime. 

After all, what is patriotism ? The idea en- 
tertained by each nation that it is braver and 
better and wiser than the rest of the world. 
Does not every Englishman feel this to be true 
of his own countrymen? It is consequently 
not absurd that Frenchmen should think the 
same of themselves. The French are intensely 
patriotic — country with them is no abstraction. 
They moan over its ruin as though it were a 
human being, and far then be it from me to 
laugh at them for doing so. When, however, I 



find persons dressing themselves up in all the 
paraphernalia of war, visiting tombs and statues 
in order to register with due solemnity that they 
intend to die rather than yield, and when, after 
all this nonsense, these same persons decline to 
take their share in the common danger on the 
score that they have a mother, or a sister, or a 
wife, or a child, dependent upon them, and when 
month after month they drum and strut up and 
down the Boulevards, I consider that they are 
ridiculous, and I say so. When a man does a 
silly thing it is his own fault — not that of the 
person who chronicles it. Was it wise, for in- 
stance, of General Ducrot to announce a fort- 
night ago that he was about to lead his soldiers 
against the enemy, and that he himself intend- 
ed either to conquer or die ? Was it wise of 
General Trochu six weeks ago to issue a proc- 
lamation pledging himself to force the Prus- 
sians to raise the siege of Paris. The Prus- 
sians will have read these manifestoes, and they 
will form their own estimate respecting them. 
That I call them foolish does not " keep up il- 
lusions in Germany." The other day the mem- 
bers of an Ultra club, in the midst of a discus- 
sion respecting the existence of a divinity, de- 
termined to decide the question by a general 
scrimmage. I think that these patriots might 
have been better employed. It does not follow, 
however, that I do not regret that they were not 
better employed. The siege of Paris is in the 
hands of General Moltke, and the Gaulois may 
depend upon it that this wary strategist is not 
at all likely to give up the task by any number 
of journalists informing him that he is certain 
to fail. 

I have got a cold, so I have not been out 
this morning. I hear that some of the troops 
have come in from Aubervilliers, and several 
regiments have marched by my windows. At 
Neuilly-sur-Mame and Bondy, it is said, earth- 
works are being thrown up ; and it is supposed 
that Chelles will, as the Americans say, be the 
objective point of any movement which may 
take place in that direction. The Patrie has 
been suspended for three days for alluding to 
military operations. It did more than allude, 
it ventured to doubt the wisdom of our generals. 
As many other journals have done the same, I 
do not understand why the Patrie should have 
been singled out for vengeance. 



CHAPTER XV. 

December 25th. 
Real Christmas weather — that is to say, the 
earth is as hard as a brickbat, and the wind 
freezes one to the very marrow. To the rich 
man, with a good coal fire in his grate, turkey, 
roast beef, plum-pudding, and mince-pies on his 
table, and his family gorging themselves on the 
solid eatables, a frost at Christmas is very pleas- 
ant. Poor people, cowering in their rags before 
the door of a union, cold, hungry, and forlorn, 
or munching their dry bread in some cheerless 



92 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Dec. 25th. 



garret, may not perhaps so fully appreciate its 
advantages ; but then we all know that poor 
people never are contented, and seldom under- 
stand the fitness of things. Here in Paris, the 
numbed soldiers out in the open fields, and the 
women and children who have no fires and 
hardly any food, bitterly complain of the " sea- 
sonable" weather. With plenty of money, 
with warm clothes, and a good house, a hard 
frost has its charms, without them it is not 
quite so agreeable. Eor my part I confess that 
I never have seen a paterfamilias with his coat- 
tails raised, basking himself before his fire, and 
prating about the delights of winter, and the 
healthy glow which is caused by a sharp frost, 
without feeling an irresistible desire to trans- 
plant him stark naked on the highest peak of 
Mont Blanc, in order to teach by experience 
what winter means to thousands of his fellow- 
creatures. We are not having a "merry 
Christmas," and we are not likely to have a 
happy New-year Christmas is not here the 
great holiday of the year, as it is in England. 
Still, every one in ordinary times tries to have 
a better dinner than usual, and usually where 
there are children in a family some attempt is 
made to amuse them. Among the bourgeoisie 
they are told to put their shoes in the grate on 
Christmas-eve, and the next morning some pres- 
ent is found in them, which is supposed to have 
been left during the night by the Infant Jesus. 
Since the Empire introduced English ways here, 
plum-pudding and mince-pies have been eaten, 
and even Christmas-trees have flourished. This 
year these festive shrubs, as an invention of the 
detested foe, have been rigidly tabooed. Plum- 
puddings and mince- pies, too, will appear on 
few tables. In order to comfort the children, 
the girls are to be given soup-tickets to distrib- 
ute to beggars, and the boys are to have their 
choice between French and German wooden 
soldiers. The former will be treasured up, the 
latter will be subjected to fearful tortures. 
Even the midnight mass, which is usually cele- 
brated on Christmas-eve, took place in very few 
churches last night. We have, indeed, too 
much on our hands to attend either to fasts or 
festivals, although in the opinion of the Univers, 
the last sortie would have been far more success- 
ful had it taken place on the 7th of the month, 
the anniversary of the promulgation of the Im- 
maculate Conception. 

Among fine people New-year's-day is more 
of a fete than Christmas. Its approach is re- 
garded with dark misgivings by many, for every 
gentleman is expected to make a call upon all 
the ladies of his acquaintance, and to leave 
them a box of sugar-plums. This is a heavy tax 
upon those who have more friends than money 
— 300 fr. is not considered an extraordinary sum 
to spend upon these bonbonnieres. A friend of 
mine, indeed, assured me that he yearly spent 
1000 fr., but then he was a notorious liar, so very 
possibly he was not telling the truth. "Thank 
Heaven," say the men, "at least we shall get 
off the sugar-plum tax this year." But the la- 



dies are not to be done out of their rights this 
way, and they throw out very strong hints that 
if sugar-plums are out of season, any thing solid 
is very much in season. A dandy who is known 
to have a stock of sausages, is overwhelmed with 
; compliments by his fair friends. A good leg of 
mutton would, I am sure, win the heart of the 
proudest beauty ; and by the gift of half a dozen 
potatoes you might make a friend for life. The 
| English here are making feeble attempts to cele- 
■ brate Christmas correctly. In an English res- 
| taurant two turkeys had been treasured up for 
I the important occasion, but unfortunately a few 
\ days ago they anticipated their fate, and most 
| ill-naturedly insisted upon dying. One fortu- 
nate Briton has got ten pounds of camel, and 
has invited about twenty of his countrymen to 
| aid him in devouring this singular substitute fur 
turkey. Another gives himself airs because he 
has some potted turkey, which is solemnly to be 
consumed to-day spread on bread. I am myself 
going to dine with the correspondent of one of 
your contemporaries. On the same floor as 
himself lives a family who left Paris before the 
commencement of the siege. Necessity knows 
no law ; so the other day he opened their door 
with a certain amount of gentle violence, and 
after a diligent search, discovered in the Larder 
two onions, some potatoes, and a ham. These, 
with a fowl, which I believe has been procured 
honestly, are to constitute our Christmas din- 
ner. 

It is very strange what opposite opinions one 
hears about the condition of the poor. Some 
persons say that there is no distress, others that 
it can not be greater. The fact is, the men were 
never better off, the women and children never 
so badly off. Every man can have enough to 
eat and too much to drink by dawdling about 
with a gun. As his home is cold and cheerless, 
when he is not on duty he lives at a pot-house. 
He brings no money to his wife and children, 
who consequently only just keep body and soul 
together by going to the national can tines, 
where they get soup, and to the Mairies, where 
they occasionally get an order for bread. Al- 
most all their clothes are in pawn, so how it is 
they do not positively die of cold I can not un- 
derstand. As for fuel, even the wealthy find it 
difficult to procure it. The Government talks 
of cutting down all the trees, and of giving up 
all the clothes in pawn ; but with its usual pro- 
crastination, it puts off both these measures 
from day to day. This morning all the fire- 
wood was requisitioned. At a meeting of the 
Mayors of Paris two days ago, it was stated 
that above 400,000 persons are in receipt of 
parish relief. 

The troops outside Paris are gradually be- 
ing brought back inside. A trench has been 
dug almost continuously from Drancy to Au- 
bervilliers, and an attempt has l;een made to ap- 
proach Le Bourget by flying sap. The ground, 
is, however, so hard, that it is much like at- 
tempting to cut through a rock. To my mind 
the whole thing is merely undertaken in order 



Di:c. 2Gth.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



93 



to persuade the Parisians that something is be- 
ing done. For the moment they are satisfied. 
" The Prussians," they say, " have besieged us ; 
we are besieging the Prussians now." What 
they will say when they find that even these 
operations are suspended, I do not know. The 
troops have suffered terribly from the cold dur- 
ing these last few days. Twelve degrees of 
frost " centigrade " is no joke. I was talking 
to some officers of Zouaves who had been twen- 
ty hours at the outposts. They said that dur- 
ing all this time they had not ventured to light 
a fire, and that this morning their wine and 
bread were both frozen. In the tents there are 
small stoves, but they give out little warmth. 
Even inside the deserted houses it is almost as 
cold as outside. The windows and the doors 
have been converted into fire-wood, and the wind 
whistles through them. The ambulance wag- 
ons of the Press alone have brought in near- 
ly 500 men frost-bitten, or taken suddenly ill. 
From the batteries at Bondy and Avron there 
has been some sharp firing, the object of which 
has been to oblige the Prussians to keep inside 
the Forest of Bondy, and to disquiet them when- 
ever they take to digging anywhere outside it. 
The plain of Avron is a very important posi- 
tion, as it commands the whole country round. 
The end of Le Bourget towards Paris appears 
entirely deserted. An ambulance-cart went up 
to a barricade this morning which crosses the 
main street, when a Prussian sentinel emerged 
and ordered it to go back immediately. Be- 
hind Le Bourget, a little to the right, is a heavy 
Prussian battery at Le Blanc Mesne!, which en- 
tirely commands it. The Line and the Mo- 
biles bitterly complain that they, and not the 
marching battalions, are exposed to every dan- 
ger. The soldiers, and particularly those of 
the Mobiles, say that if they are to go on fight- 
ing for Paris, the Parisians must take their fair 
share in the battles. As for the marching bat- 
talions, they are, as soldiers, worth absolutely 
nothing. The idea of their assaulting, with any 
prospect of success, any positions held by artil- 
lery, is simply ludicrous. The system of divid- 
ing an army into different categories, if subject- 
ed to a different discipline, is fatal for any uni- 
ted offensive operations. It is to be hoped that 
Trochu will at last perceive this, and limit his 
efforts to keeping the Prussians out of Paris, 
and harassing them by frequent and partial sor- 
ties. I hear that General Ducrot wanted to at- 
tempt a second assault of Le Bourget, but this 
was overruled at a council of war which was 
held on Thursday. 

December 26th. 
The Journal Officiel announces that military 
operations are over for the present, owing to 
the cold, and that the army is to be brought in- 
side Paris, leaving outside only those necessary 
for the defense. This is a wise measure, al- 
though somewhat tardily taken. The Parisians 
will no doubt be very indignant ; but if they do 
not like fighting themselves, they insist that the 
Line and the Mobiles should have no repose. 



M. Felix Pyat gives the following account of 
Christmas in England: — "Christmas is the 
great English fete — the Protestant Carnival — 
an Anglo-Saxon gala — a gross, pagan, mon- 
strous orgie — a Roman feast, in which the 
vomitorium is not wanting. And the eaters 
of 'bif ' laugh at us for eating frogs ! Singular 
nation ! the most biblical and the most materi- 
al of Europe — the best Christians and the great- 
est gluttons. They can not celebrate a religious 
fete without eating. On Holy Friday they eat 
buns, and for this reason they call it Good-Fri- 
day. Good, indeed, for them, if not for God. 
They pronounce messe mass, and boudin pud- 
ding. Their pudding is made of suet, sugar, 
currants, and tea. The mess is boiled for fifteen 
days, sometimes for six months ; then it is con- 
sidered delicious. No pudding, no Christmas. 
The repast is sacred, and the English meditate 
over it for six months in advance — they are the 
only people who put money in a savings' bank 
for a dinner. Poor families economize for 
months, and take a shilling to a publican every 
Saturday of the year, in return for which on 
Christmas-day they gorge themselves, and are 
sick for a week after. This is their religion — 
thus they adore their God." M. Pyat goes on 
to describe the butchers' shops before Christ- 
mas ; one of them, he says, is kept by a butcher 
clergyman, and over his door is a text. 

The Gaulois gives an extract of a letter of 
mine from a German paper, in which I venture 
to assert that the Parisians do not know that 
Champigny is within the range of the guns of 
their forts, and accompanies it with the follow- 
ing note : — " The journal which has fallen into 
our hands has been torn, and consequently we 
are unable to give the remainder of this letter. 
What we have given is sufficient to prove that 
our Government is tolerating within our walls 
correspondents who furnish the enemy with 
daily information. What they say is absurd, 
perhaps, but it ought not to be allowed." Does 
the Gaulois really imagine that the German 
generals would have raised the siege in despair 
had they not learnt that, as a rule, the Paris- 
ians do not study the map of the environs of the 
city ? 

Old Vinoy has issued an order of the day de- 
nouncing the conduct of the soldiers and officers 
who ran away when the Prussians issued from 
the cellars at Villa Evrard. It requires a great 
deal of courage just now to praise the Line, and 
to find fault with the National Guard. But 
General Vinoy is a thorough soldier, and stands 
no nonsense. If anything happens to Trochu, 
and he, assumes the command-in-chief, I sus- 
pect the waverers of the National Guard will 
have to choose between fighting and taking off 
their uniforms. The General is above seventy 
— a hale and hearty old man ; sticks to his pro- 
fession, and utterly ignores politics. He has a 
most unsurrendering face, but I do not think 
that he would either hold out vain hopes to the 
Parisians or flatter their vanity. He would tell 
them the truth, and with perfect indifference as 



94 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Dec. 28th. 



to the consequences. He is a favorite both with 
the soldiers and the officers, and hardly conceals 
his contempt for the military capacity of Tro- 
chu, or the military qualities of Trochu's civic 
heroes. 

December 2St?i. 

The proverbial obstinacy of the donkey has 
been introduced into our systems, owing to the 
number of these long-eared quadrupeds which 
we have eaten. We "don't care" for any 
thing. We don't care if the armies of the 
provinces have been beaten, we don't care if 
we have been forced to suspend offensive oper- 
ations, we don't care if the Prussians bombard 
us, we don't care if eventually we have to capit- 
ulate. We have ceased to reason or to calcu- 
late. We are in the don't-care mood. How 
long this will last with so impulsive-a people it 
is impossible to say. Our stomachs have be- 
come omnivorous ; they digest any thing now ; 
and even if in the end they will be called upon 
to digest the leek, as we shall not be called upon 
to eat this vegetable either to-morrow or the 
next day, we don't care. The cold is terrible, 
and the absence of fire-wood causes great suffer- 
ing. The Government is cutting down trees as 
fast as possible, and by the time it thaws there 
will be an abundance of fuel. In the mean 
time it denounces in the Official Journal the 
bands of marauders who issue forth and cut 
down trees, park benches, and garden palings. 
I must say that I don't blame them. When 
the thermometer is as low. as it is now, and 
when there is no fire in the grate, the sanctity 
of property as regards fuel becomes a mere ab- 
straction. Yesterday the Prussians unmasked 
several batteries, and opened fire against the 
plateau of Avron and the eastern forts. They 
fired above 3000 shells, but little damage was 
done. We had only thirty-eight killed and 
wounded. One shell fell into a house where 
eight people were dining and killed six of them. 
The tiring is going on to-day, but not so heavi- 
ly. The newspapers seem to be under the im- 
pression that we ought to rejoice greatly over 
this cannonade. Some say that it proves that 
the Prussians have jjiven up in despair the idea 
of reducing us by famine ; others that it is a 
clear evidence that Prince Frederick Charles 
has been beaten by General Chanzy. On Mon- 
day, Admiral La Konciere received a letter from 
a general whose name could not be deciphered 
about an exchange of prisoners. In this letter 
there was an allusion to a defeat which our 
troops in the North had sustained. But this 
we consider a mere wile of our insidious foe. 

The Gaulois continues its crusade against the 
English correspondents in Paris. They are all, 
it says, animated by a hostile feeling towards 
France. ' ' We give them warning, and we hope 
that they will profit by it." Now, we know 
pretty well what French journalists term a hos- 
tile feeling towards their country. We were 
told at the commencement of the war that the 
English press was sold to Prussia, because it de- 
clined to believe in the Imperial bulletins of 



victories. That a correspondent should simply 
tell the truth without fear or favor, never enters 
into the mind of a Gaul. For my part, I con- 
fess that my sympathies are with France ; and I 
am glad to hear on so good authority that these 
sympathies have not biased my recital of events. 
Notwithstanding the denunciations of the Gau- 
lois, I have not the remotest intention to de- 
scribe the National Guards as a force of any 
real value for offensive operations. If, as the 
Gaulois insists, they are more numerous and 
better armed than the Prussians, and if the 
French artillery is superior to the Prussians, 
they will be able to raise the siege ; and then I 
will acknowledge that I have been wrong in my 
estimate of them. As yet they have only blown 
their own trumpets, as though this would cause 
the Prussian redoubts, like the walls of Jericho, 
to fall down. I make no imputation on their 
individual courage ; but I say that this siege 
proves once more the truth of the fact, that un- 
less citizen soldiers consent to merge for a time 
the citizen in the soldier, and to submit to dis- 
cipline, as troops they are worthless. The Gau- 
lois wishes to anticipate the historical romance 
which will, perhaps, be handed down to future 
generations. Posterity may, if it pleases, be- 
lieve that the Parisians were Spartans, and that 
they fought with desperate valor outside their 
walls. I, who happen to see myself what goes 
on, know that all the fighting is done by the 
Line and the Mobiles, and that the Parisians 
are not Spartans. They are showing great te- 
nacity, and suffering for the sake of the cause 
of their country many hardships. That Gen- 
eral Trochu should pander to their vanity, by 
telling them that they are able to cope outside 
with the Prussians, is his affair. I do not blame 
him. He best knows how to deal with his fel- 
low-countrymen. I am not, however, under 
the necessity of following his example. 

The usual stalls which appear at this season 
of the year have been erected on the Boulevards. 
They are filled with toys and New-year's gifts. 
But a woolly sheep is a bitter mockerv, and 
a " complete farm-yard " in green and blue 
wood only reminds one painfully of what one 
would prefer to see in the flesh. The customers 
are few and far between. I was looking to-day 
at a fine church in chalk, with real windows, 
price 6 fr., and was thinking that one must be a 
Mark Tapley to buy it, and walk home with it 
under one's arm under present circumstances. 
Many of the stall-keepers have in despair de- 
serted the toy business, and gone in for com- 
forters, kepis, and list soles. 

Until the weather set in so bitterly cold, el- 
derly sportsmen, who did not care to stalk the 
human game outside, were to be seen from 
morning to night pursuing the exciting sport of 
gudgeon-fishing along the banks of the Seine. 
Each one was always surrounded by a crowd 
deeply interested in the chase. Whenever a 
fish was hooked, there was as much excitement 
as when a whale is harpooned in more northern 
latitudes. The fisherman would play it for 



Dec. 29th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



95 



some five minutes, and then, in the midst of the question as to what is to be done when our pro- 
solemn silence of the lookers-on, the precious visions fail. The members of the Government 
capture would be landed. Once safe on the still keep up the theory that a capitulation is an 
bank, the happy possessor would be patted on the J impossible contingency. The nearer the fatal 
back, and there would be cries of " Bravo!" moment approaches the less any one speaks of 
The times being out of joint for fishing in the [ it, just as a man, when he is growing old, avoids 
Seine, the disciples of Isaac Walton have fallen j the subject of death. Frenchmen have far more 
back on the sewers. The Paris Journal gives i physical than civic courage. They prefer to 
them the following directions how to pursue j shut their eyes to what is unpleasant than to 
their new game: — "Take a long, strong line, ' grapple with it. How long our stores of flour 
and a large hook, bait with tallow, and gently will last it is difficult to say, but if our rulers 
agitate the rod. In a few minutes a rat will wait to treat until they are exhausted, they will 
come and smell the savory morsel. It will be perforce be obliged to accept any terms ; and, 
some time before he decides to swallow it, for ' for no satisfactory object, they will be the cause 
his nature is cunning. When he does, leave ; that ma*ny will starve before the town can be re- 
him five minutes to meditate over it ; then pull victualled. They call this, here, sublime. I 
strongly and steadily. He will make convulsive , call it folly. Its sublimity is beyond me. As 
jumps ; but be calm, and do not let his excite- i is the case with a sick man given over by the 



ment gain on you, draw him up, et voila votre 
diner." 

December 29th. 
So we have withdrawn from the plateau of 
Avron. Our artillery, says the Journal Officiel, 



physicians, the quacks are ready with their nos- 
trums. The Ultra journals recommend that the 
Government should be handed over to a com- 
mune. The Ultra clubs demand that all gener- 
als and colonels should be cashiered, and others 
could not cope with the Krupp cannons, and I elected in their place. One club has subscribed 



therefore it was thought wise to withdraw them. 
The fire which the Prussians have rained for 
the last two days upon this position has not been 



1600 frs. for Greek fire ; another club suggests 
blowing up the Hotel de Ville ; another sending 
a deputation clothed in white to offer the King 



very destructive of human life. It is calculated of Prussia the presidency of the Universal Re- 
that every man killed has cost the Prussians public ; another — and this comes home to me — 



24,000 lbs. of iron. We are still speculating 
upon the reasons which induced the Prussians 
at last to become the assailants. That they 
wished to drive us from this plateau, which 



passed a vote yesterday evening demanding the 

immediate arrest of all English correspondents. 

I am looking forward with horrible misgivings 

to the moment when I shall have no more mon- 



overlooks many of their positions, is fartoosim- ey, so that perhaps I shall be thankful for be- 
ple an explanation to meet with favor. The ing lodged and fed at the public expense. My 
Verite of this morning contains an announce- banker has withdrawn from Paris, and his rep- 
ment that a Christmas Session of the 'House of 
Commons has turned out Mr. Gladstone by a 



resentative declines to look at my bill, although 
I offer ruinous interest. As for friends, they 
hostile vote, and that he has been succeeded by ! are all in a like condition, for no one expected 



a " War Minister." We are inclined to think 
that the Prussians, being aware of this, have 



the siege to last so long. At my hotel, need I 
observe that I do not pay my bill, but in hotels 



been attempting to terrify us, in order that we : the guests may ring in vain now for food. I 
may surrender before Sir B. Disraeli and Milord sleep on credit in a gorgeous bed — a pauper. 



J. Pakington come to our rescue. The Paris- 
ians, intelligent and clever as they are, are abso- 



The room is large. I wish it were smaller, for 
the fire-wood comes from trees just cut down, 



lutely wanting in plain common sense. I am and it takes an hour to get the logs to light, and 
convinced that if 500 of them were boiled down, | then they only smoulder, and emit no heat. The 
it would be impossible to extract from the stew j thermometer in my grand room, with its silken 
as much of this homely, but useful quality, as curtains, is usually at freezing-point. Then my 
there is in the skull of the dullest tallow-chand- ! clothes — I am seedy, very seedy. When I call 



ler's apprentice in London. 

The vital question of food is now rarely al- 
luded to in the journals. The Government is, 



upon a friend, the porter eyes me distrustfully. 
In the streets the beggars never ask me for 
alms; on the contrary, they eye me suspiciously 



however, called to task for not showing greater when I approach them, as a possible competitor, 
energy, and the feeling against the unfortunate The other day I had some newspapers in my 



Trochu is growing stronger. He is held re- 
sponsible for every thing— the frost, the dearth 
of food, the ill-success of our sorties, and the de- 
feats of the armies of succor. I am sorry for 
him, for he is a well-meaning man, although un- 



hand, an old gentleman took one from me and 
paid me for it. I had read it, so I pocketed the 
halfpence. My wardrobe is scanty, like the sage 
omnia mea mecumporto. I had been absent from 
Paris before the siege, and I returned with a 



fitted for such troubled waters. But to a great small bag. It is difficult to find a tailor who 
extent he has himself to thank for what is oc- j will work, and even if he did I could not send 
curring. He has risked his all upon the success him my one suit to mend, for what should I 
of his plan, and he has encouraged the notion ; wear in the mean time ? Decency forbids it. 
that he could force the Prussians to raise the My pea-jacket is torn and threadbare, my trow- 
siege. In the mean time no one broaches the sers are frayed at the bottom, and of many col- 



90 



THE BESIEGED EESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Dec. 80th. 



ors — like Joseph's coat. As for my linen, I will i 
only say that the washer-women have struck I 
work, as they have no fuel. I believe my shirt 
was once white, but I am not sure. I invested 
a few weeks ago in a pair of cheap boots. They 
are my torment. They have split in various 
places, and I wear a pair of gaiters — purple, like 
those of a respectable ecclesiastic — to cover the 
rents. I bought them on the Boulevard, and 
at the same stall I bought a bright blue hand- 
kerchief which was going cheap ; this I wear 
round my neck. My upper man resembles that 
of a dog-stealer, my lower man that of a bishop. 
My buttons are turning my hair gray. When 
I had more than one change of raiment these 
appendages remained in their places, now they 
drop off as though I were a moulting fowl. I 
have to pin myself together elaborately, and 
whenever I want to get any thing out of my 
pocket I have elaborately to unpin myself, with 
the dread of falling to pieces before my eyes. 
For my food, I allowance myself, in order to eke 
out as long as possible my resources. I dine 
and breakfast at a second-class restaurant. Cat, 
dog, rat, and horse are very well as novelties, 
but taken habitually, they do not assimilate with 
my inner man. Horse, doctors say, is heating ; 
I only wish it would heat me. I give this de- 
scription of my existence, as it is that of many 
others. Those who have means, and those who 
have none, unless these means are in Paris, row 
in the same boat. 

The society at my second-class restaurant is 
varied. Many are regular customers, and we 
all know each other. There .are officers who 
come there whenever they get leave from out- 
side — hardy, well-set fellows, who take matters 
philosophically and professionally. They make 
the most of their holiday, and enjoy themselves 
without much thought of the morrow. Then 
there are tradesmen who wear kepis, as they 
belong to the National Guard. They are not 
in such good spirits. Their fortunes are ebbing 
away, and in their hearts I think' they would, 
although their cry is still "no surrender," be 
glad if all were over. They talk in low tones, 
and pocket a lump of the sugar which they are 
given with their coffee. Occasionally an cx- 
dandy comes in. I see him look anxiously 
around to make sure that no other dandy sees 
him in so unfashionable a resort. The dandy 
keeps to himself, and eyes us haughtily, for we 
are too common folk for the like of him. Tra- 
viatas, too, are not wanting in the second-class 
restaurant. Sitting by me yesterday was a girl 
whom in times gone by I had often seen driving 
in a splendid carriage in the Bois. Her silks 
and satins, her jewelry and her carriage, had 
vanished. There are no more Russian Princes, 
no more Boyards, no more Milords to minister 
to her extravagances. She was eating her horse 
as though she had been "poor but honest" all 
her life ; and as I watched her washing the no- 
ble steed down with a pint of vin ordinaire, I 
realized the alteration which this siege was ef- 
fecting in the condition of all classes. But the 



strangest habitues of the restaurant are certain 
stalwart, middle-aged men, who seem to con- 
sider that their function in life is to grieve over 
their country, and to do nothing else for it. 
They walk in as though they were the soldiers 
of Leonidas on the high road to Thermopylas — 
they sit down as though their stools were curule 
chairs — they scowl at any one who ventures to 
smile, as though he were guilty of a crime — and 
they talk to each other in accents of gloomy re- 
solve. When any one ventures to hint at a 
capitulation, they bound in their seats, and cry, 
On verra. Sorrow does not seem to have dis- 
turbed their appetites, and, as far as I can dis- 
cover, they have managed to escape all military 
duty. No human being can be so unhappy, 
however, as they look. They remind me of the 
heir at the funeral of a rich relative. Speaking 
of funerals reminds me that the newspapers pro- 
pose that the undertakers, like the butchers, 
should be tariffed. They are making too good 
a thing out of the siege. They have raised 
their prices so exorbitantly that the poor com- 
plain that it is becoming impossible for them 
even to die. 

A letter found, or supposed to be found, in 
the pocket of a dead German from hisGretchen 
is published to-day. "If you should happen 
to pillage a jeweller's shop," says this practical 
young lady, " don't forget me, but get me a 
pretty pair of ear-rings." The family of this 
Avarrior appear to be inclined to look after the 
main chance ; for the letter goes on to say that 
his mother had knitted him a jacket, but hav- 
ing done so, has worn it herself ever since in- 
stead of sending it to him. Gretchen will never 
get her ear-rings, and the mother may wear her 
jacket now without feeling that she is depriving 
her son of it, for the poor fellow lies under three 
feet of soil near Le Bourget. 

December aOth. 

I hear that a story respecting a council which 
was held a few days ago, at which Trochu was 
requested to resign, is perfectly true. Picard 
and Jules Favre said that if he did resign they 
should do so also, and the discussion was closed 
by the General himself saying, "I feel myself 
equal to the situation, and I shall remain." 
Yesterday evening there were groups every- 
where, discussing the withdrawal of the troops 
from Avron. It was so bitterly cold, however, 
that they soon broke up. This morning the 
newspapers, one and all, abuse Trochu. Some- 
how or other, they say, he always fails in every 
thing he undertakes. I hear from military men 
that the feeling in the army is very strong against 
him. While the bombardment was going on at 
Avron he exposed himself freely to the fire, but 
instead of superintending the operations he at- 
titudinized and made speeches. General Du- 
crot, who was there, and between whom and 
Trochu a certain coldness has sprung up, de- 
clared that he had always been opposed to any 
attempt to retain this position. The behavior 
of Vinoy was that of a soldier. He was every- 
where encouraging his men. What I can not 



Dec. 80th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



97 



understand is why, if Avron was to be held, it 
was not fortified. It must have been known 
that the Prussians could, if they pleased, bring 
n heavy concentric fire from heavy siege-guns 
to bear upon it. Casemates and strong earth- 
works might have been made — but nothing was 
done. I was up there the other day, and I then 
asked an engineer officer why due precautions 
were not being taken ; but he only shrugged his 
shoulders in reply. General Vinoy, who was in 
the Crimea, says that all that the French, Eng- 
lish, and Russians did there was child's play 
in comparison with the Prussian artillery. Erom 
the size of the unburst shells which have been 
picked up, their cannon must be enormous. The 
question now is, whether the forts will be able 
to hold out against them. The following ac- 
count of what has taken place from the Verite 
is by far the best which has been published : 

" Notwithstanding that the fire of the enemy 
slackened on the 26th, the Prussians were not 
losing their time. Thanks to the hardness of 
the soil and to the fog, they had got their guns 
into position in all their batteries from Ville- 
nomble to Montfermeil. The injury done to 
the park of Drancy by the precision of the aim 
of our artillery at Fort Nogent was repaired ; 
cannon were brought to the trenches which the 
day before we had occupied at Ville Evrart ; 
and, as well as it was possible, twelve new bat- 
teries, armed with cannon of long range, were 
unmasked. All through the 28th the fire con- 
tinued ; shells fell thickly on our batteries, and 
in the village of Rosny. The roof of the sta- 
tion was knocked in, and several Mobiles were 
killed in the main street. The evacuation of 
the church, which had been converted into an 
ambulance, was thought advisable. All this, 
however, was nothing in comparison with the 
fire which was poured in during the night. 
The plateau of Avron was literally inundated 
with shells, many of them of far larger size than 
had previously been fired. The range of the 
guns was too great, and it was evident that the 
Prussians had rectified their aim. Their pro- 
jectiles no longer fell wide in the field ; they 
almost all burst close to the trenches. Two 
guns in battery No. 2 were struck ; the same 
thing soon occurred in battery No. 3. Every 
moment the wheels of some ammunition-wagon 
were struck, or one of the horses killed. Sev- 
eral men were wounded in the trenches, which 
were so shallow as to afford little protection. 
Two shells bursting at the same moment killed 
a naval officer and three men at one of the 
guns. All who were so imprudent as to ven- 
ture to attempt to cross the plateau were struck 
down. It was a sad and terrible spectacle to 
see these sailors coolly endeavoring to point 
their guns, undisturbed by the rain of fire ; 
while their officers, who were encouraging 
them, were falling every moment, covering 
those round them with their blood. The in- 
fantry and the Mobiles were, too, without shel- 
ter; for the Krupp guns swept the portion of 
the plateau on which they were drawn up with- 
G 



in supporting distance. Most of them made 
the best of it, and laughed when they heard the 
shells whistling above their heads and bursting 
near them. Many, however, were so terrified, 
that they fell back, and spread abroad in their 
rear disquieting reports, which the terrified air 
of the narrators rendered still more alarming. 
The National Guard were drawn up on the 
heights in advance of the village of Rosny; a 
few shells reached their ranks. An officer and 
a soldier of the 114th were slightly wounded; 
but they remained firm. Every hour the Prus- 
sian cannonade became heavier. On our side 
our fire slackened : then ceased entirely. An 
estafette came with an order to evacuate the 
plateau, and to save the artillery. No time 
was lost. Fortunately, at this moment the en- 
emy's fire also slackened ; and the preparations 
for a retreat were hurriedly made. The guns 
were taken from their carriages, the baggage 
was laden on the carts, and the munition on 
the wagons. The soldiers strapped on their 
knapsacks, struck their tents, and harnessed the 
horses. All this was not accomplished without 
difficulty, for it had to be done noiselessly and 
in the dark, for all the fires had been put out. 
General Trochu, seated on a horse, issued his 
directions, and every moment received informa- 
tion of what was taking place. Notwithstand- 
ing the expostulations of his staff, the General 
refused to withdraw from this exposed point. 
"No, gentlemen," he said, "I shall not with- 
draw from here until the cannon are in safety." 
At two in the morning all was ready ; the long 
train began to move ; the cannon of 7 and the 
mitrailleuses of Commandant Pothier took the 
lead. Then followed the heavy naval guns, 
then the munition and baggage-wagons ; the 
troops of the Line, the Marines, and the Na- 
tional Guard were ordered to cover the retreat. 
It was no easy matter to descend from the 
plateau to Rosny. The frost had made the 
road a literal ice-hill. The drivers walked by 
the side of their animals, holding the reins and 
pulling them up Avhen they stumbled. Until 
four o'clock, however, every thing went well. 
The march slowly continued, and the Prussian 
batteries were comparatively calm. Their 
shells fell still occasionally where our guns had 
been. The noise of the wheels, however, and 
the absence of all cannonade on our parts, at 
length awakened the suspicions of the enemy. 
Their fire was now directed on the fort of Ros- 
ny, and the road from the plateau leading to it. 
At this moment the line of guns and wagons 
was passing through the village, and only carts 
with baggage were still on the plateau. At 
first the shells fell wide ; then they killed some 
horses ; some of the drivers were hit ; a certain 
confusion took place. That portion of our line 
of march which was in Rosny was in imminent 
danger. Fortunately, our chiefs did not lose 
their heads. The guns whose horses were un- 
touched passed those which were obliged to 
stop. Some of them took to the fields ; the 
men pushed the wheels, and, thanks to their 



98 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Jan. 1st. 



efforts, our artillery was saved. As soon as the 
guns had been dragged up the hill opposite the 
plateau, the horses started off at a gallop, and 
did not stop until they were out of the range of 
the enemy's fire. The guns were soon in safe- 
ty at Vincennes and Montreuil. The troops 
held good, the men lying down on their stom- 
achs, the officers standing up and smoking 
their cigars until the last wagon had passed. 
Day had broken when they received orders to 
withdraw. The National Guard went back 
into Paris, and the Line, after a short halt at 
Montreuil, camped in the barracks of St. Maur. 
At eight o'clock, the evacuation of the plateau 
was complete ; but the Prussian shells still fell 
upon the deserted houses and some of the gun- 
carriages which had been abandoned. The en- 
emy then turned their attention to the forts of 
Rosny and Noisy. It hailed shot on these two 
forts, and had they not been solidly built they 
would not have withstood it. The noise of 
this cannonade was so loud that it could be 
heard in the centre of Paris. 

Around the Fort of Noisy the projectiles sank 
into the frozen ground to a depth of two and a 
half metres, and raised blocks of earth weigh- 
ing 30 lbs. Shells fell as far as Romainville. 
In the Rue de Pantin a drummer had his head 
carried off; his comrades buried him on the 
spot. In the court of Fort Noisy three men, 
hearing the hissing of a shell, threw themselves 
on the ground. It was a bad inspiration; the 
shell fell on the one in the middle, and killed 
all three. These were the only casualties in 
the fort, and at ten o'clock the enemy's bat- 
teries ceased firing on it. All their efforts were 
then directed against the Fort of Rosny. The 
shells swept the open court, broke in the roof 
of the barracks, and tore down the peach-trees, 
whose fruit is so dear to the Parisians. From 
eleven o'clock, it was impossible to pass along 
the road to Montreuil in safety. In that vil- 
lage, the few persons who are still left sought 
shelter in their cellars. At three o'clock the 
sun came out, and I passed along the strate- 
gical road to Noisy. I met several regiments — 
Zouaves, Infantry, and Marines — coming from 
Noisy and Bondy. I could distinctly see the 
enemy's batteries. Their centre is in Rancy, 
and the guns seem to be in the houses. The 
destruction in Bondy commenced by the French 
artillery has been completed by the Prussians. 
From three batteries in the park of Rancy they 
have destroyed the wall of the cemetery, be- 
hind which one battery was posted and an earth- 
work. What remained of the church has been 
literally reduced to dust. Except sentinels hid 
in the interior of the houses, all our troops had 
been withdrawn. Some few persons, out of 
curiosity, had adjourned to the Grande Place ; 
their curiosity nearly cost them dear, and they 
had to creep away. At three o'clock the ene- 
my's fire had redoubled ; some of our Mobiles, 
in relieving guard, were killed ; and from that 
hour no one ventured into the streets. 9 p.m. — 
The _ moon has risen, and shines brightly — the 



ground is covered with snow, and it is almost 
like daylight. The Prussian positions can dis- 
tinctly be seen. The cannon can not be distin- 
guished, but all along the line between Ville- 
nomble and Gagny tongues of fire appear, fol- 
lowed by long columns of smoke. The fire on 
Rosny is increasing in violence ; the village of 
Noisy is being bombarded. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Pakis, January 1st, 1871. 
Our forts still, like breakwaters before a 
coast, keep back the storm which the Prussians 
are directing against us. I went out yesterday 
by the Vincennes gate to see how matters were 
looking. In the Bois de Vincennes there were 
troops of every description, and a large number 
of guns. The usual scenes of camp life were 
going on, although, owing to the cold, every one 
seemed gloomy and depressed. I confess that 
if I were called upon to camp out in this weath- 
er under a tente d'abri, and only given some 
very smoky green wood to keep me warm, I 
should not be quite so valorous as I should wish 
to be. Passing through the Bois, which is rap- 
idly becoming a treeless waste, I went forward 
in the direction of Fontenay. As the Prussian 
bombs, however, were falling thickly into the 
village, I executed a strategical movement to 
the left, and fell back by a cross-road into Mon- 
treuil. In this village several regiments were 
installed. It is just behind Fort Rosny, and on 
the upper portion, towards the fort, the Prus- 
sian shells fell. It is very singular what little 
real danger there is to life and limb from a 
bombardment. Shells make a hissing noise as 
they come through the air. Directly this warn- 
ing hiss is heard, down every one throws him- 
self on the ground. The shell passes over and 
falls somewhere near, it sinks about two feet 
into the hard ground, and then bursts, throwing 
up great clouds of earth, like a small mine. 
The Prussians are unmasking fresh batteries 
every day, and approaching nearer and nearer 
to the forts. Their fire now extends from be- 
hind Le Bourget to the Marne, and at some 
points reaches to within a mile of the ramparts. 
Bondy is little more than a heap of ruins. As 
for the forts, we are told that, with the excep- 
tion of their barracks having been made unten- 
able, no harm has been done. Standing behind 
and looking at the shells falling into them, 
they certainly do not give one the idea of places 
in which any one would wish to be, unless he 
were obliged ; and they seemed yesterday to be 
replying but feebly to the fire of the enemy. I 
suppose that the Prussians know their own busi- 
ness, and that they really intend wholly to de- 
stroy Fort Rosny. Before you get this letter 
the duel between earth and iron will be decided, 
so it is useless my speculating on the result. 
If Rosny or Nogent fall, there will be nothing 
to protect Belleville from a bombardment. 
Many military sages imagine that this bom- 



Jan. 1st.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



99 



bardment is only a prelude to an attack upon 
Mont Valerien. About 3500 metres from that 
fort there is a very awkward plateau called La 
Bergerie. It is somewhat higher than the hill 
on which Valerien stands. The Prussians are 
known to have guns on it in position, and as Vale- 
rien is of granite, if bombarded, the value of gran- 
ite as a material for fortifications will be tested. 
Since the Prussians have opened fire, there 
have been numerous councils of war, and still 
more numerous proclamations. General Tro- 
chu has issued an appeal to the city to be calm, 
and not to believe that differences of opinion 
exist among the members of the Government. 
General Clement Thomas has issued an ad- 
dress to the National Guards, telling them that 
the country is going to demand great sacrifices 
of them. In fact, after the manner of the Gauls, 
every body is addressing every body. Toujours 
des proclamations et rien que cela, say the peo- 
ple, who are at last getting tired of this non- 
sense. Yesterday there was a great council of 
all the generals and commanders. General 
Trochu, it is said, was in favor of an attempt 
to pierce the Prussian lines ; the majority be- 
ing in favor of a number of small sorties. 
What will happen no one seems to know, and 
I doubt even if our rulers have themselves any 
very definite notion. The Ultra journals clam- 
or for a sortie en masse, which of course would 
result in a stampede en masse. One and all 
the newspapers either abuse Trochu, or damn 
him with faint praise. It is so very much a 
matter of chance whether a man goes down to 
posterity as a sage or a fool, that it is by no 
means easy to form an opinion as to what will 
be the verdict of history on Trochu. If he 
simply wished to keep the Prussians out of 
Paris, and to keep order inside until the pro- 
visions were exhausted, he has succeeded. If 
he wished to force them to raise the siege he 
has failed. His military critics complain that, 
admitting he could not do the latter, he ought, 
by frequent sorties, to have endeavored to pre- 
vent them sending troops to their cove-ring 
armies. One thing is certain, that all his sor- 
ties have failed not only in the result, but in 
the conception. As a consequence of this, the 
French soldiers, who, more than any other 
troops in the world, require, in order to fight 
well, to have faith in their leader, have lost all 
confidence in him. 

We have had no pigeon for the last eighteen 
days, and the anxiety to obtain news from with- 
out is very strong. A few days ago a messen- 
ger was reported to have got through the Prus- 
sian lines with news of a French victory. The 
next day a Saxon officer was said, with his 
last breath, to have confided to his doctor that 
Frederick Charles had been defeated. Yester- 
day Jules Favre told the mayor that there was 
a report that Chanzy had gained a victory. 
Every thing now depends upon what Chanzy 
is doing, and, for all we know, he may have 
ceased to exist for the last week. 

A census which has just been made of the 



population within the lines, makes the num- 
ber, exclusive of the Line, Mobiles, and sailors, 
2,000,500. No attempt has yet been made to 
ration the bread, but it is to be mixed with oats 
and rice. The mayor of this quarter says that 
in this arrondissement — the richest in Paris — 
he is certain that there is food for two months. 
Should very good news come from the prov- 
inces, and it appear that by holding out for two 
months more the necessity for a capitulation 
would be avoided, I think we should hold on 
until the end of February, if we have to eat the 
soles of our boots. If bad news comes, we 
shall not take to this food ; but we shall give 
in when every thing except bread fails, and we 
shall then consider that our honor is saved if 
nothing else is. M. Louis Blanc to-day pub- 
lishes a letter to Victor Hugo, in which he tells 
the Parisians that if they do capitulate they 
will gain nothing by it, for the Prussians will 
neither allow them to quit Paris, nor, if the war 
continues, allow food to enter it. 

As yet there are no signs of a real outbreak ; 
and if a successful one does occur, it will be 
owing to the weakness of the Government, 
which has ample means to repress it. The 
Parisian press is always adjuring the working- 
men not to cut either each others' or their 
neighbors' throats, and congratulating them on 
their noble conduct in not having done so. 
This sort of praise seems to me little better 
than an insult. I see no reason why the work- 
ing-men should be considered to be less patri- 
otic than others. That they are not satisfied 
with Trochu, and that they entertain different 
political and social opinions to those of the 
bourgeoisie, is very possible. Opinions, how- 
ever, are free, and they have shown as yet that 
they are willing to subordinate the expression 
of theirs to the exigencies of the national de- 
fense. I go a good deal among them, and 
while many of them wish for a general system 
of rationing, because they think that it will 
make the provisions last longer, they have no 
desire to pillage or to provoke a conflict with 
the Government. I regard them myself, in ev- 
ery quality which makes a good citizen, as in- 
finitely superior to the journalists who lecture 
them, and who would do far better to shoulder 
a musket and to fall into the ranks, than to 
waste paper in reviling the Prussians and brag- 
ging of their own heroism. As soldiers, the 
fault of the working-men is that they will not 
submit to discipline ; but this is more the fault 
of the Government than of them. As citizens, 
no one can complain of them. To talk with 
one of them after reading the leading article of 
a newspaper is a relief. A French journalist 
robes himself in his toga, gets upon a pedestal, 
and talks unmeaning, unpractical claptrap. A 
French workman is, perhaps, too much inclined 
to regard every one except himself, and some 
particular idol which he has set up, as a fool ; 
but he is by no means wanting in the power to 
take a plain practical view, both of his own in- 
terests and those of his country. 1 rf r 



100 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PAKIS. 



Since the commencement of the siege, forty- 
nine new journals have appeared. Many of 
them have already ceased to exist, but counting 
old and new newspapers, there must at least be 
sixty published every day. How they manage 
to find paper is to me a mystery. Some of 
them are printed upon sheets intended for books, 
others upon sheets which are so thick that I 
imagine they were designed to wrap up sugar 
and other groceries. Those which were the 
strongest in favor of the Empire, are now the 
strongest in favor of the Republic. Editors and 
writers whose dream it was a few months ago 
to obtain an invitation at the Tuileries or to the 
Palais Eoyal, or to merit by the basest of flat- 
teries the Legion of Honor, now have become 
perfect Catos, and denounce courts and court- 
iers, Bonapartists and Orleanists. War they 
regard as the most wicked of crimes, and they 
appear entirely to have forgotten that they wel- 
comed with shouts of ecstasy in July last the 
commencement of the triumphal march to Ber- 
lin. 

January 2d. 

Yesterday evening, notwithstanding the cold, 
there were groups on the Boulevards shouting 
" a bas Troclm." It is understood that hence- 
forward no military operation is to take place 
before it has been discussed by a Council of 
War, consisting of generals and admirals. As 
the moment approaches when we shall, unless 
relieved, be obliged to capitulate, every one is 
attempting to shift from himself all responsi- 
bility. This is the consequence of the scape- 
goat system which has so long prevailed in 
France. Addresses are published from the 
commanders outside congratulating the Nation- 
al Guard who have been under their orders. 
The Veiite, in alluding to them, asks the fol- 
lowing questions : — " Why are battalions which 
are accused by General Thomas, their direct 
superior, of chronic drunkenness, thus placed 
upon a pinnacle by real military men ? Why 
do distinguished generals, unless forced by cir- 
cumstances, declare the mere act of passing four 
or five cold nights in the trenches heroic ? Why 
is so great a publicity given to such contradic- 
tory orders of the day ?" 

The Journal Officiel contains a long address 
to the Parisians. Beyond the statement that no 
news had been received since the 14th ult., this 
document contains nothing but empty words. 
Between the lines one may, perhaps, read a de- 
sire to bring before the population the terrible 
realities of the situation. 

The deaths for the last week amount to 3280 
— an increase on the previous week of 552. I 
am told that these bills of mortality do not in- 
clude those who die in the public hospitals. 
Small-pox is on the increase — 454 as against 
388 the previous week. 

Nothing new outside. The bombardment of 
the eastern forts still continues. It is, how- 
ever, becoming more intermittent. Every now 
and then it almost ceases, then it breaks out 
with fresh fury. The Prussians are supposed to 



[Jan. 2d. 

be at work at Chatillon. If they have heavy 
guns there, it will go hard with the Fort of 
Vanves. The rations are becoming in some 
of the arrondissements smaller by degrees and 
beautifully less. In the 18th (Moritmartre) the 
inhabitants only receive two sous' worth of horse- 
flesh per diem. The rations are different in 
each arrondissement, as the Mayor of each tries 
to get hold of all he can, and some are more 
successful than others. These differences cause 
great dissatisfaction. The feeling to-day seems 
to be that if Trochu wishes to avoid riots, he 
must make a sortie very shortly. 

The Gaulois says : 

"How sad has been our New-year's-day ! 
Among ourselves we may own it, although we 
have bravely supported it, like men of sense, 
determined to hold good against bad fortune, 
and to laugh in the face of misery. It is hard 
not to have had the baby brought to our bed- 
side in the morning ; not to have seen him clap 
his hands with pleasure on receiving some toy ; 
not to have pressed the hands of those we love 
best, and not to have embraced them and been 
able to say — ' The year which has passed has 
had its joys and its sorrows, sun and shadow — 
but what matters it? We have shared them 
together. The year which is commencing can 
not bring with it any sorrows that by remaining 
united we shall not be able to support?' Most 
of us breakfasted this morning — the New-year's 
breakfast, usually so gay — alone and solitary ; 
a few smoky logs our only companions. There 
are sorrows which no philosophy can console. 
On other days one may forget them, but on 
New-year's-day our isolation comes home to us, 
and, do what we may, we are sad and silent. 
Where are they now? What are they doing 
now ? is the thought which rises in every breast. 
The father's thoughts are with his children ; he 
dimly sees before him their rosy faces, and their 
mother who is dressing them. How weary, too, 
must the long days be for her, separated from 
her husband. Last year she had taught the 
baby to repeat a fable, and she brought him all 
trembling to recite it to the father. She, too, 
trembles like a child. She follows him with 
her looks, she whispers to him a word when he 
hesitates, but so low that he reads it on her lips, 
and the father hears nothing. Poor man ! 
Sorry indeed he would have been to have had 
it supposed that he had perceived the mother's 
trick. He was himself trembling, too, lest the 
child should not know his lesson. What a dis- 
appointment it would have been to the mother! 
For a fortnight before she had taken baby every 
night on her knees and said, 'Now begin your 
fable.' She had taught it him verse by verse 
with the patience of an angel, and she had en- 
couraged him to learn it with many a sugar- 
plum. ' He is beginning to know his fable,' 
she said a hundred times to her husband. 
' Really,' he answered, with an air of doubt. 

"The honest fellow was as interested in it 
as his wife, and he only appeared to doubt it in 
order to make her triumph greater. He knew 



Jan. 2d.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



101 



that baby would know the fable on New-year's 
morn. You Prussian beggars, you Prussian 
scoundrels, you bandits, and you Vandals, you 
have taken every thing from us ; you have ru- 
ined us; you are starving us; you are bom- 
barding us ; and we have a right to hate you 
with a royal hatred. Well, perhaps one day 
we might have forgiven you your rapine and 
your murders ; our towns that you have sack- 
ed ; your heavy yokes ; your infamous treasons. 
The French race is so light of heart, so kindly, 
that we might perhaps in time have forgotten 
our resentments. What we never shall forget 
will be this New -year's -day, which we have 
been forced to pass without news from our fam- 
ilies. You at least have had letters from your 
Gretchens, astounding letters, very likely, in 
which the melancholy blends with blue eyes — 
make a wonderful literary salad, composed of 
sour-krout, Berlin wool, forget-me-nots, pil- 
lage, bombardment, pure love, and transcendent- 
al philosophy. But you like all this just as you 
like jam with your mutton. You have what 
pleases you. Your ugly faces receive kisses by 
the post. But you kill our pigeons, you inter- 
cept our letters, you shoot at our balloons with 
your absurd fusils de ?-empart, and you burst out 
into a heavy German grin when you get hold 
of one of our bags, which are carrying to those 
we love our vows, our hopes, our remembrance, 
our regrets, and our hearts. It is a merry farce, 
is it not? Ah, if ever we can render you half 
the sufferings which we are enduring, you will 
see des grises. Perhaps you don't know what 
the word means, and, like one of Gavarni's chil- 
dren, you will say, ' What ! des grises f You 
will, I trust, one of these days learn what is the 
signification of the term at your own cost. One 
of your absurd pretensions is to be the only peo- 
ple in the world who understand how to love, or 
who care for domestic ties. You will see, by the 
hatred which we shall ever bear to you, that we 
too know how to love — our time will come some 
day, be assured. This January 1 of the year 1871 
inaugurates a terrible era of bloody revenge. 
Poor philosophers of universal peace, you see 
now the value of your grand phrases and of 
your humanitarian dreams ! Vainly you im- 
agined that the world was entering into a peri- 
od of everlasting peace and progress. A won- 
derful progress, indeed, has 1870 brought us ! 
You never calculated on the existence of these 
Huns. We are back again now in the midst 
of all the miseries of the 13th and 14th centu- 
ries. The memory of to-day will be written on 
the hearts of our children. 'It was the year,' 
they will say, ' when we received no presents, 
when we did not kiss our father, because of the 
Prussians. They shall pay for it !' Let us 
hope that the payment will commence this very 
day. But if we are still to be vanquished, we 
will leave to our children the memory of our 
wrongs, and the care to avenge them." 

The following article is from the Verite :— 
"What troubles would not have been spared 
to our unhappy country if only it had been told 



the truth. If only any one had been courageous 
enough to tell us what were our resources when 
Grammont made his famous declaration from 
the tribune, the war would not have taken place. 
On the 4th of September, many members of the 
new Government were under no delusions, but 
as it was necessary to say that we were strong, 
in order to be popular, they did not hesitate to 
proclaim that the Republic would save France. 
To-day the situation has not changed. On the 
faith of the assertions of their rulers, the popu- 
lation of Paris imagines that ultimate victory is 
certain, and that our provisions can never be ex- 
hausted. They have no idea that if we are not 
succored we must eventually succumb. What 
a surprise — and perhaps what a catastrophe — it 
will be when they learn that there is no more 
bread, and no chance of victory. The people 
will complain that they have been deceived, and 
they will be right. They will shout 'treason,' 
and seek for vengeance. Will they be entirely 
in the wrong? If the Government defends it- 
self, what future awaits us ! If it does not de- 
fend itself, through what scenes shall we pass 
before falling into the hands of the Prussians ! 
The Republic, like the Empire, has made men- 
dacity the great system of government. The 
Press has chosen to follow the same course. 
Great efforts are being made to destroy the re- 
ciprocal sentiments of union and confidence, to 
which we owe it that Paris still resists, after 100 
days of siege. The enemy, despairing to deliv- 
er over Paris to German}', as it had solemnly 
promised, on Christmas, adds now the bombard- 
ment of our advanced posts and our forts to the 
other means of intimidation by which it has en- 
deavored to enervate the defense. Use is being 
made, before public opinion, of the deceptions 
which an extraordinary winter and infinite suf- 
ferings and fatigues are causing us. It is said, 
indeed, that the members of the Government 
are divided in their views respecting the great 
interests the direction of which has been con- 
fided to them. The army has suffered great 
trials, and it required a short repose, which the 
enemy endeavors to dispute by a bombardment 
more violent than any troops were ever exposed 
to. The army is preparing for action with the 
aid of the National Guards, and all together we 
shall do our duty. I declare that there are no 
differences in the councils of the Government, 
and that we are all closely united in the pres- 
ence of the agonies and the perils of the coun- 
try, and in the thought and the hope of its de- 
liverance." 

La Patrie, of January 2, says : 

"Perhaps Bourbaki has gone to meet Gen- 
eral von Werder. If he is victorious, the road 
to Paris by the valley of the Seine will be open 
to him, or the road to Southern Germany by 
Besancon and Belfort, and the bridge of Bale, 
the neutrality of which we are not obliged to 
respect any more than that of Belgium, since 
Europe has allowed Bismarck to violate that of 
Luxemburg. Ah ! if Bourbaki were a Torten- 
sen, a Wrangel, or a Turenne — perhaps he is 



102 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Jan. 4th. 



— what a grand campaign we might have in a 
few weeks on the Danube, the Lech, and the 
Saar." 

The Liberty of January 2, says : 

"A great manifestation is being organized 
against the Government. The object is to sub- 
stitute in its place the college of Mayors of 
Paris and their adjuncts. The manifestation, 
if it occurs, will not get farther than the Bou- 
levards. General Trochu is in no fear from 
Mayor Mothe, but he must understand that the 
moment for action has arrived. His proclama- 
tion has only imperfectly replied to the appre- 
hensions of Paris. A capitulation, the very 
idea of which the Government recoils from, and 
which would only become possible when cold, 
hunger, and a bombardment have made further 
resistance impossible, besieges the minds of all. 
and presses all the hearts which beat for a re- 
sistance a outrance in a vise of steel. Trochu 
should reply to these agonies no longer by proc- 
lamations, but by acts." 

January 4th. 

It is said, I know not with what truth, that 
there always are, on an average, 5000 families 
who are in destitute circumstances, because 
their chiefs never would play out their trumps 
at whist until it became too late to use them 
effectively. If Trochu really was under the 
impression that he had trumps in his hand 
good enough to enable him to win the game he 
is playing against the Prussians, he has kept 
them back so long that they are worthless. If 
he could not break through the Prussian lines 
a month ago, a fortiori, he will not be able to 
do so now. They are stronger, and he is weak- 
er ; for the inaction of the last few weeks, and 
the surrender of Avron, would have been enough 
to damp the ardor of far more veteran troops 
than those which he has under his command. 
The outcry against this excellent but vain man 
grows stronger every day, and sorry, indeed, 
must he be that he " rushed in where others 
feared to tread." "Action, speedy action," 
shout the newspapers, much as the Americans 
did before Bull Run, or as M. Felix Pyat al- 
ways calls it, Run Bull. The generals well 
know that if they yield to the cry, there will 
most assuredly be a French edition of that bat- 
tle. In fact, the situation may be summed up 
in a very few words. The generals have no 
faith in their troops, and the troops have no 
faith in their generals. Go outside the walls 
and talk to the officers and the soldiers who are 
doing the real fighting, and who pass the day 
dodging shells, and the night freezing in their 
tents. They tell you that they are prepared to 
do their duty, but that they are doubtful of ul- 
timate success. Come inside, and talk to some 
hero who has never yet got beyond the ram- 
parts, Cato at Utica is a joke to him, Palafox 
at Saragossa a whining coward. Since the 
forts have been bombarded, he has persuaded 
himself that he is eating, drinking, and sleep- 
ing under the fire of the enemy. " Human na- 
ture is a rum 'un," said Mr. Richard Swiveller; 



and most assuredly this is true of French na- 
ture. That real civil courage and spirit of 
self-sacrifice which the Parisians have shown, 
in submitting to hardship and ruin rather than 
consent to the dismemberment of their coun- 
try, they regard as no title to respect. Noth- 
ing which does not strike the imagination has 
any value in their eyes. A uniform does not 
make a soldier ; and although they have all ar- 
rayed themselves in uniform, they are far worse 
soldiers than the peasantry who have been en- 
rolled in the Mobiles. To tell them this, how- 
ever, would make them highly indignant. Mil- 
itary glory is their passion, and it is an unfor- 
tunate one. To admire the pomp and pride of 
glorious war no more makes a warrior than to 
admire poetry makes a poet. 

The Parisian is not a coward ; but his indi- 
viduality is so strongly developed that he ob- 
jects to that individuality being destroyed by 
some stray shot. To die with thousands look- 
ing on is one thing ; to die obscm-ely is anoth- 
er. French courage is not the same as that of 
the many branches of the great Saxon family. 
A Saxon has a dogged stubbornness which 
gives him an every-day and every-hour courage. 
That of the Frenchman is more dependent upon 
external circumstances. He must have confi- 
dence in his leader, he must have been encour- 
aged by success, and he must be treated with 
severity tempered with judicious flattery. Give 
him a sword, and let him prance about on a 
horse like a circus-rider, and, provided there 
are a sufficient number of spectators, he will do 
wonders, but he will not consent to perish ob- 
scurely for the sake of any thing or any one. 
Trochu has utterly failed in exciting enthusi- 
asm in those under his command ; he issues 
many proclamations, but they fail to strike the 
right chord. Instead of keeping up discipline 
by judicious severity, he endeavors to do so by 
lecturing like a school-master. And then, since 
the commencement of the siege he has been un- 
successful in all his offensive movements. I 
am not a military man, but although I can un- 
derstand the reasons against a sortie en masse, 
it does appear to me strange that the Prussians 
are not more frequently disquieted by attacks 
which at least would oblige them to make many 
a weary march round the outer circle, and would 
prevent them from detaching troops for service 
elsewhere. 

Not an hour passes without some new rumor 
respecting the armies of the Provinces being 
put in circulation. A letter in which General 
Chanzy is said to be playing with Frederick 
Charles as a cat plays with a mouse, and which 
is attributed to Mr. Odo Russell, English Un- 
der-Secretary of State, and Correspondent of 
the Times, has been read by some one, and this 
morning all the newspapers are jubilant over it. 
A copy of the Moniteur de Versailles of the 1st 
has found its way in ; there is nothing in it 
about Frederick Charles, but this we consider 
evidence that he has sustained a defeat. Then 
somebody has found a bottle in the Seine with 



Jxs. 4tii.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



103 



a letter in it ; this letter alludes to a great 
French victory. Mr. Washburne has the Eng- 
lish papers up to the 22d, but he keeps grim 
guard over them, and allows no one to have 
a glimpse of them, since our worthy friend 
Otto von Bismarck sent in to him an extract 
from a letter of mine, in which I alluded to the 
contents of some of them which had reached us. 
He passes his existence, however, staving off 
insidious questions. His very looks are com- 
mented on. "We saw him to-day," says an 
evening paper I have ju§t bought ; " he smiled ! 
Good sign ! Our victory must have been over- 
whelming if John Bull is obliged to confess it." 
Another newspaper asks him whether, consider- 
ing the circumstances, he does not consider it a 
duty to violate his promise to Count Bismarck, 
and to hand over his newspapers to the Govern- 
ment. In this way, thinks this tempter, the 
debt which America owes to France for aiding 
her during her revolution will be repaid. ' ' We 
gave you Lafayette and Rochambeau, in return 
we only ask for one copy of an English paper." 
The anxiety for news is weighing heavier on 
the population than the absence of provisions or 
the cold. 

Every day, and all day, there are crowds stand- 
ing upon the elevated points in the city, peering 
through glasses, in the wild hope of witnessing 
the advent of Chanzy, who is apparently expect- 
ed to prick in with Faidherbe by his side, upon 
two gorgeously caparisoned steeds, like the he- 
roes in the romances of the late Mr. G. P. R. 
James. Many pretend to distinguish, above the 
noise of the cannon of our forts and the Prussian 
batteries, the echoes of distant artillery, and rush 
off to announce to their friends that the army of 
succor has fallen on the besiegers from the rear. 
In the mean time the bombardment of the forts 
and villages to the east of the city is continuing, 
and, with that passion for system in every thing 
which distinguishes the Germans, it is being 
methodized. A fixed number of shells are fired 
off every minute, and at certain hours in the day 
there are long pauses. What is happening in 
the fort is, of course, kept very secret. The offi- 
cial bulletins say that no damage in them has 
yet been done. As for the villages round them, 
they are, I presume, shelled merely in order to 
make them untenable. 

The Government appears now as anxious to 
find others to share responsibility with it as 
heretofore it has been averse to any division of 
power. The Mayors of the city are to meet 
with their deputies once a week at the Hotel de 
Ville to express their opinions respecting mu- 
nicipal matters, and once a week at the Ministry 
of the Interior to discuss the political situation. 
As there are twenty mayors and forty adjuncts, 
they, when together, are almost numerous 
enough to form a species of Parliament. The 
all-important food question remains in statu quo. 
It is, however, beginning to be hinted in semi- 
official organs, that perhaps the bread will have 
to be rationed ; I may be wrong, but I am in- 
clined to think that the population will not sub- 



mit to this. Government makes no statement 
with respect to the amount of corn in store. 
Some say that there is not enough for two weeks, 
others that there is enough for two months' con- 
sumption ; M. Douait assured a friend of mine 
yesterday that, to the best of his belief, there is 
enough to carry us into March. 

Landlords and tenants are as much at logger- 
heads here as they are in Ireland ; the Govern- 
ment has issued three decrees to regulate the 
question. By the first is suspended all judicial 
proceedings on the part of landlords for their 
rent ; by the second, it granted a delay of three 
months to all persons unable to pay the October 
term; by the third, it required all those who 
wished to profit by the second to make a decla- 
ration of inability to pay before a magistrate. 
To-day a fourth decree has been issued, again 
suspending the October term, and making the 
three previous decrees applicable to the Janua- 
ry term, but giving to landlords a right to dis- 
pute the truth of the allegation of poverty on 
the part of their tenants. The question is a very 
serious one, for on the payment of rent depends 
directly or indirectly the means of livelihood of 
] half the nation. Thus the landlords say that if 
the tenants do not pay them they can not pay 
the interest of the mortgages on their properties. 
If this interest be not paid, however, the share- 
! holders of the Credit Foncier and other great 
i mortgage-banks get nothing. Paris, under the 
fostering care of the Emperor, had become, next 
to St. Petersburg, the dearest capital in Europe. 
Its property was artificial, and was dependent 
upon a long chain of connecting links remaining 
unbroken. In the industrial quarters money 
was made by the manufacture of Articles de 
Paris, and for these, as soon as the communi- 
cations are reopened, there will be the same 
market as heretofore. As a city of pleasure, 
however, its prosperity must depend, like a huge 
watering-place, upon its being able to attract 
strangers. If they do not return, a reduction 
in prices will take place, which will ruin most 
of the shop-keepers, proprietors of houses, and 
hotel-keepers ; but this, although unpleasant to 
individuals, would be to the advantage of the 
world at large. 

Extravagance in Paris makes extravagance 
the fashion everywhere ; under the Empire, to 
spend money was the readiest road to social dis- 
tinction. The old bourgeoisie still retained the 
careful habits of the days of Louis Philippe, and 
made fortunes by cheese-paring. Imperial Par- 
is was far above this. Families were obliged to 
spend 20 per cent, of their incomes in order to 
lodge themselves; shops in favored quarters 
were let for fabulous prices, and charged fabu- 
lous prices for their wares. Cocodettes of the 
Court, cocottes of the Bois, wives of speculators, 
j shoddy squaws from New York, Calmucs recent- 
j ly imported from their native steppes, doubtful 
j Italian Princesses, gushing Polish Countesses, 
l and foolish Englishwomen, merrily raced along 
| the road to ruin. Good taste was lost in tinsel 
1 and glitter ; what a thing cost was the only 



104 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Jan. 6th. 



standard of its beauty. Great gingerbread pal- 
aces were everywhere run up, and let even be- 
fore they were out of the builder's hands. It 
was deemed fashionable to drive about in a car- 
riage with four horses, with perhaps a black man 
to drive, and an Arab sitting on the box by his 
side. Dresses by milliners in vogue gave a ready 
currency to their wearers. The Raphael of his 
trade gave himself all the airs of a distinguish- 
ed artist; he received his clients with vulgar 
condescension, and they — no matter what their 
rank — submitted to his insolence in the hope 
that he would enable them to outshine their 
rivals. Ambassadors' wives and Court ladies 
used to go to take tea with the fellow, and dis- 
pute the honor of filling his cup or putting su- 
gar into it. I once went into his shop — a sort 
of drawing-room hung round with dresses; I 
found him lolling on a chair, his legs crossed 
before the fire. Around him were a bevy of 
women, some pretty, some ugly, listening to his 
observations with the rapt attention of the dis- 
ciples of a sage. He called them up before him 
like school-girls, and after inspecting them, 
praised or blamed their dresses. One, a pretty 
young girl, found favor in his eyes, and he told 
her that he must dream and meditate several 
days over her, in order to find the inspiration 
to make a gown worthy of her. " Why do you 
wear these ugly gloves?" he said to another, 
"never let me see you in gloves of that color 
again." She was a very grand lady, but she 
slipped off her gloves, and put them in her 
pocket with a guilty look. When there was 
going to be a ball at Court, ladies used to go 
down on their knees to him to make them 
beautiful. For some time he declined to dress 
any longer the wife of a great Imperial dignita- 
tary who had not been sufficiently humble to- 
wards him ; she came to him in tears, but he 
was obdurate, and he only consented at last to 
make a gown for her on condition that she 
would put it on for the first time in his shop. 
The Empress, who dealt with him, sent to tell 
him that if he did not abate his prices she would 
leave him. "You can not," he replied, and in 
fact she could not, for she stood by him to the 
last. A morning dress by this artist, worth in 
reality about £4, cost £30 ; an evening dress, 
tawdry with flounces, ribbons, and bad lace, 
could not be had under £70. There are about 
thirty shops in Paris where, as at this man-mil- 
liner's, the goods are not better than elsewhere, 
but where they cost about ten times their value. 
They are patronized by fools with more money 
than wits, and chiefly by foreign fools. The 
proprietor of one of these establishments was 
complaining to me the other day of what he 
was losing by the siege ; I told him that I sym- 
pathized with him about as much as I should 
with a Greek brigand, bewailing a falling off of 
wealthy strangers in the district where he was 
in the habit of carrying on his commercial op- 
erations. Whenever the communications are 
asxain open to Paris, and English return to it, I 
would give them this piece of advice — never 



deal where id on parte Anglais is written up ; 
it means ici on vole les Anglais. The only 
tradesmen in Paris who are making a good 
thing out of their country's misfortunes are the 
liquor sellers and the grocers ; their stores seem 
inexhaustible, but they are sold at famine prices. 
" I who speak to you, I owe myself to my coun- 
try. There is no sacrifice I would not make 
rather than capitulate to those Huns, those Van- 
dals," said a grocer to me, with a most sand-the- 
sugar face, this morning, as he pocketed about 
ten times the value of a trifle — candles, in fact, 
which have risen twenty-five per cent, in the 
last two days — and folding his arms, scowled 
from under his kepi into futurity, with stern but 
vacuous resolution. 

Jamiary 6th. 
I have just returned from Point-du-Jour, 
where I went with Mr. Frank Lawley in order 
to see myself what truth there was in the an- 
nouncement that we were being bombarded. 
Point-du-Jour is the point where the Seine is- 
sues from Paris. The circular railroad passes 
over the river here on a high brick viaduct, 
which forms a species of fortification. The 
hills outside the city form a sort of amphitheatre, 
in which are situated the towns of Sevres and 
Meudon. To the right of the river is Mont 
Valerien and the batteries in the Bois de Bou- 
logne ; to the left the Fort of Issy. The noise 
of the cannonade was very loud ; but very little 
could be seen, owing to the sun shining on the 
hills outside. Speculators, however, with tele- 
scopes, were offering to show the Prussian artil- 
lerymen for one sou — one of them offered to let 
me see a general for two sous. When I got 
within about half a mile of the ramparts I be- 
gan to hear the whistling of the shells. Here 
the sight-seers were not so numerous. When- 
ever a shell was heard, there was a rush behind 
walls and houses. Some people threw them- 
selves down, others seemed to imagine that the 
smallest tree would protect them, and congre- 
gated behind the thinnest saplings. Boys were 
running about picking up pieces of shells, and 
offering them for sale. Women were stand- 
ing at their doors, and peeping their heads out: 
' ; Brigands, bandits, they dare to bombard us ; 
wait till to-morrow, we will make them rue it." 
This, and expressions of a similar nature, was 
the tone of the small talk. My own impres- 
sion is, that the Prussians were firing at the 
ramparts, and that, as often occurs, their pro- 
jectiles overshot the mark. I did not see any 
one either killed or wounded, and it seems to 
me that the most astonishing thing in a bom- 
bardment is the little damage it does to life and 
limb. I saw a bit of iron cut away a branch 
from one of the trees, and one shell I saw burst 
on the road by the river. In 15 minutes we 
counted 11 shells whizzing through the air over 
our heads, which fell, I presume, somewhere be- 
hind us. The newspaper which I have just 
bought, I see, says that two shells have fallen 
close by the Invalides, and that they have been 
coming in pretty thickly all along the zone near 



Jan. 7th.] 



THE BESIEGED EESIDENT IN PARIS. 



105 



the southern ramparts. This may or may not 'a lb.; the other parts of the interesting twins 



be the case.. Like Herodotus in Egypt, I make 
a distinction between what I am told and what 
I see, and only guarantee the authenticity of the 
latter. The only house which, as far as I could 
perceive, had been struck was a small one. A 
chimney-stack had been knocked over ; an old 
lady who inhabited it pointed this out to me. 
She seemed to be under the impression that 
this was the result of design, and plaintively 
asked me what she had done to "William " and 
to Bismarck that they should knock over her 
chimney. On the ramparts no damage seemed 
to have been done. The National Guard on 
duty were in the casemates. The noise, how- 
ever, was tremendous. Issy, Valerien, the guns 
of the bastions and those of the cannon-boats, 
were firing as hard as they could, and the Prus- 
sian batteries were returning their fire with a 
will. After the sun went down the dark hills 
opposite were lit up with the flashes of light 
which issued every second from the batteries. 

The Government has issued a proclamation ; 
in it is announced that we are to be relieved by 
the Army of the North. Another proclamation 
has been posted, purporting to proceed^ from the 
" delegates of the twenty arrondissements," call- 
ing upon the population to turn out Trochu. 
It has attracted little notice. Several mayors, 
too, it is reported, have threatened to resign un- 
less more energetic counsels prevail in high 
places. Frenchmen, however, as one of their 
statesmen said, can not grasp two ideas at a 
time, and for to-day at least the bombardment 
is the all-absorbing idea. Whether Frederick 
Charles has been really defeated I do not know, 
but we are all assured that he has been. Paris 
journals state that he has been wounded, and 
that 45,000 of his army have surrendered. It 
is asserted, too, that the prisoners who were 
taken yesterday admit that one of their armies 
has had a very serious reverse. The bombard- 
ment of the forts still continues, and it has ex- 
tended to the southern ones. With respect to 
its effect I will say nothing, lest I be accused of 
giving aid and comfort to the enemy. La Verite 
of yesterday already calls upon the Government 
to open and either suppress or expurgate the 
letters of English correspondents. 

The vin ordinaire is giving out. It has al- 
ready risen nearly 60 per cent, in price. This 
is a very serious thing for the poor, who not 
only drink it, but warm it and make with bread 
a soup out of it. Yesterday I had a slice of 
Pollux for dinner. Pollux and his brother 
Castor are two elephants, which have been kill- 
ed. It was tough, coarse, and oily, and I do 
not recommend English families to eat ele- 
phant as long as they can get beef or mutton. 
Many of the restaurants are closed owing to 
want of fuel. They are recommended to use 
lamps ; but although French cooks can do won- 
ders with very poor materials, when they are 
called upon to cook an elephant with a spirit- 
lamp the thing is almost beyond their ingenui- 
ty. Castor and Pollux's trunks sold for 45 fr. 



fetched about 10 fr. a lb. It is a good deal 
warmer to-day, and has been thawing in the 
sun ; if the cold and the siege had continued 
much longer, the Prussians would have found 
us all in bed. It is a far easier thing to cut 
down a tree than to make it burn. Proverbs 
are not always true; and I have found to my 
bitter experience of late that the proverb that 
"there is no smoke without a fire" is untrue. 
The Tupper who made it never tried to burn 
green wood. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

January 1th. 
The attempt of the " Ultras " to force Trochu 
to resign has been a failure. On Friday bands 
issuing from the outer Faubourgs marched 
through the streets shouting " No capitula- 
tion !" A manifesto was posted on the walls, 
signed by the delegates of the 20 arrondisse- 
ments, calling on the people to rise. At the 
weekly meeting of the Mayors, M. Delescluze, 
the Mayor of the 19th arrondissement, proposed 
that Trochu and Le Flo should be called upon 
to resign, and that a supreme council should be 
established in which the "civil element should 
not be subordinated to the military element." 
M. Gustave Flourens published a letter from his 
prison suggesting that the people should choose 
as their leader a young energetic Democrat — 
that is to say, himself. M. Felix Pyat, on the 
other hand, explained that generals are tyrants, 
and that the best thing would be to carry on 
the operations of the siege without one. The 
"bombardment" is, however, still the absorb- 
ing question of the day, and all these incipient 
attempts at revolution have failed. Trochu is- 
sued a proclamation, in which he said, "The 
Governor of Paris will never capitulate." M. 
Delescluze has resigned, and several arrests 
have been made. The Government, however, 
owes its triumph not so much to its own in- 
herent merits as to the demerits of those who 
wished to supplant it. Every one complains 
of Trochu's strange inaction, and distrusts his 
colleagues, who seem to be playing fast-and- 
loose with the Commune, and to be anxious by 
a little gentle violence to be restored to private 
life. The cry still is, "We will not capitulate !" 
and the nearer the moment approaches that the 
provisions must fail, the louder is it shouted. 
Notwithstanding the bitter experience which 
the Parisians have had of the vanity of mere 
words to conjure disaster, they still seem to sup- 
pose that if they only cry out loud enough that 
the Prussians can not, will not, shall not, enter 
Paris, their men of war will be convinced that 
the task is beyond their powers, and go home in 
despair. We are like a tribe of Africans beat- 
ing tom-toms, and howling in order to avert a 
threatening storm. Yesterday a great council 
of war was held, at which not only the generals 
of division and admirals, but even generals of 
brigade, were present. Although it is a mili- 



10G 



THE BESIEGED EESIDENT IN PAEIS. 



[Jan. 11th. 



tary dictum that " councils of war never fight," 
I think that in a few days we shall have a sor- 
tie, as that anonymous general "public opin- 
ion " insists upon it. 

We are still without news from the provinces. 
The General Order to-day publishes an extract 
from a German paper which hardly seems to 
bear out the assertion of the Government that 
the Army of the North is advancing to our suc- 
cor. As evidence that our affairs are looking 
up in the provinces, La France contains the 
following : "A foreigner who knows exactly the 
situation of our departments said yesterday, 
'These damned French, in spite of their asinine 
qualities, are getting the better of the Prus- 
sians.' " We are forced to live to-day upon 
this crumb of comfort which has fallen from 
the lips of a great unknown. Hope is the last 
feeling which dies out in the human breast, and 
rightly or wrongly nine persons out of ten be- 
lieve that Chanzy will shortly force the Prus- 
sians to raise the siege. The bombardment is 
supposed to mask their having been obliged to 
send heavy reinforcements to Frederick Charles, 
who regularly every morning is either killed, 
wounded, or taken prisoner. 

It is almost needless to say that the news- 
papers are filled with wondrous tales respecting 
the bombardment ; with denunciations against 
the Prussians for their sacrilege in venturing 
upon it ; and with congratulations to the popu- 
lation on their heroism in supporting it. The 
number of persons who have been all but hit 
by shells is enormous. I went to the left bank 
of the Seine in order to see myself the state of 
affairs. At Point-du-Jour there is a hot cor- 
ner sparsely inhabited. The Prussians are evi- 
dently here firing at the viaduct which crosses 
the river. From here I followed the ramparts 
as close as I could as far as Montrouge. I 
heard of many shells which had fallen, but ex- 
cept at Point-du-Jour I did not myself either 
see any fall, or hear any whiz through the air. 
I then went to the Observatory, where, accord- 
ing to the Soir, the shells were falling very free- 
ly. A citizen who was sweeping before the 
gate told me that he knew nothing about them. 
In the Hue d'Enfer, just behind, there was a 
house which had been struck during the night, 
and close by there was a cantiniere, on her way 
to be buried, who had been killed by one. At 
the garden of the Luxembourg and at the arte- 
sian well near the Invalides I heard of shells, 
but could not find out where they had struck. 
As far as I can make out, the Prussians aim 
at the bastions, and occasionally, but rarely, at 
some public building. Probably about fifty 
shells have been sent with malice prepense in- 
side the town. Just behind a bastion it is a 
little dangerous ; but in Grenelle, Vaugirard, 
and Montrouge, the risk to each individual is 
not so great as it would be to go over a crowded 
crossing in London. In these quarters I saw a 
few people moving away with their goods and 
chattels; but the population generally seemed 
rather pleased than otherwise with what was 



going on. Except close in by the ramparts, 
there was no excitement. Almost the whole 
of the portion of the town on the left bank of 
the Seine is now under fire ; but even should it 
be seriously bombarded, I doubt if the effect 
will be at all commensurate with the expense 
of powder and projectiles. When shells fall 
over a very large area, the odds against each 
separate person being hit by them are so large 
that no one thinks that — happen what may to 
others — he will be wounded. 

January 11th, 

The spy mania, which raged with such in- 
tensity at the commencement of the siege, ha3 
again broken out. Every day persons are ar- 
rested because they are supposed, by lighted 
candles and other mysterious devices, to be in 
communication with the enemy. Sergeant 
Hoff, who used to kill his couple of brace of 
Germans every day, and who disappeared after 
Champigny, it is now said was a spy ; and in- 
stead of mourning over his wife, who had been 
slain by the Prussians, kept a mistress in splen- 
dor, like a fine gentleman. Foreigners are 
looked upon suspiciously in the streets. Very 
black looks are cast upon the Americans, who 
have established and kept up the best ambu- 
lance there is in Paris at their own cost. Even 
the French ambulances are suspected, since 
some of their members, during a suspension of 
arms, broke bread with the Prussians ; for it is 
held that any one who does not hate a Ger- 
man must be in the pay of Bismarck. But 
this is not all : the newspapers hint that there 
are spies at head-quarters. General Schmitz 
has a valet who has a wife, and this wife is a 
German. What more clear than that General 
Schmitz confides what passes at councils of 
war to his valet — generals usually do ; that the 
valet confides it to his wife, who, in some mys- 
terious manner, confides it to Bismarck. Then 
General Trochu has an aid-de-camp, a Prince 
Bibesco. He is a Wallachian, and a son of an 
ex-Hospodar — I never yet heard of a Walla- 
chian who was not more or less. Can a doubt 
exist in the mind of any reasonable being that 
this young gentleman, a harmless lad, who had 
passed the greater part of his existence dancing 
cotillons at Paris, is in direct communication 
with the Prussians outside ! 

A day or two ago two National Guards were 
exchanging their strategical views in a cafe, 
when they observed a stranger write down some- 
thing. He was immediately arrested, as he ev- 
idently intended to transmit the opinions of 
these two military sages to General Moltke. I 
was myself down at Montrouge yesterday, when 
I was requested by two National Guards to ac- 
company them to the nearest commissary. I 
asked why, and was told that a woman had 
heard me speak German. I replied that I was 
English. "Zat ve sail soon zee," said one of 
my captors. "I spek Anglish like an Anglish- 
man, address to me the vord in Anglish." I 
replied that the gentleman spoke English with 
so perfect an accent that I thought he must be 



Jax. 11th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



107 



a fellow-countryman. The worthy fellow was 
disarmed by the compliment, and told a crowd 
which had collected round us to do prompt jus- 
tice on the spy, that I not only was an English- 
man, but an Cockne ; that is to say, he explain- 
ed, an inhabitant of London. He shook me by 
the hand ; his friend shook me by the hand ; 
and several ladies and gentlemen also shook me 
by the hand ; and then we parted. Yesterday 
evening on the Boulevards there were groups 
discussing ' ' the traitors. " Some said that Gen- 
eral Schmitz had been arrested; others that he 
ought to be arrested. A patriot observed to me 
that all foreigners in Paris ought, as a precau- 
tionary measure, to be extirpated. "Parbleu," 
I replied ; and you may depend upon it, I rolled 
my eyes and shrugged my shoulders in true Gal- 
lic fashion. This morning General Trochu has 
published a proclamation, denouncing all at- 
tacks upon his staff, and making himself re- 
sponsible for its members. It is an honest, 
manly protest, and by far the best document 
which this prolific writer has issued for some 
time. Another complaint is made against the 
generals who damp the popular enthusiasm by 
throwing doubts upon ultimate victory. In 
fact, we have got to such a condition that a 
military man dares not venture to express his 
real opinion upon military matters for fear of 
being denounced. We are, indeed, still in a 
most unsurrendering mood. I was talking to- 
day to a banker — a friend who would do any 
thing for me except cash my bill. In business 
he is a clear-headed, sensible man. I asked 
him what would occur if our provisions gave 
out before the armies of the provinces arrived 
to our succor. He replied that the Government 
would announce the fact, and call upon all able- 
bodied men to make a dash at the Prussian 
lines ; that 300,000 at least would respond to 
that call, and would either be killed or force 
their way out. This will give you an idea of 
the present tone of the population. Nine men 
out of ten believe that we have enough provis- 
ions to last at least until the end of February. 
The only official utterance respecting the pro- 
visions is contained in a paragraph in the Jour- 
nal Officiel to-day, in which we are informed 
that there are 15,000 oxen and 40,000 sheep in 
Bordeaux waiting for marching orders to Paris. 
This is much like telling a starving man in the 
Strand that figs are plentiful in Palestine, and 
only waiting to be picked. 

The bombardment has diminished in inten- 
sity. The Government has put the Prussian 
prisoners in the ambulances on the left bank of 
the Seine. It appears to me that it would have 
been wiser to have moved the ambulances to 
the right bank. By day few shells fall into the 
town beyond the immediate vicinity of the ram- 
parts. At night they are more plentiful, and 
seem to be aimed promiscuously. I suppose 
about ten people are hit every twenty -four 
hours. Now as above fifty people die every 
day in Paris of bronchitis, there is far more 
danger from the latter than from the batteries 



of the disciples of Geist outside. It is not worse 
to die by a bomb than of a cold. Indeed I am 
by no means sure that of two evils the latter 
is not the least; yet a person being suddenly 
struck down in the streets of a capital by a 
piece of iron from a cannon will always pro- 
duce a more startling effect upon the mind than 
a rise in the bills of mortality from natural 
causes. Those who are out of the reach of the 
Prussian guns are becoming accustomed to the 
bombardment. "You naughty child," I heard 
a woman who was walking before me say to her 
daughter, "if you do not behave better I will 
not take you to see the bombardment." " It is 
better than a vaudeville," said a girl near me on 
the Trocadero, and she clapped her hands. A 
man at Point-du-Jour showed me two great 
holes which had been made in his garden the 
night before by two bombs close by his front 
door. He, his wife, and his children seemed 
to be rather proud of them. I asked him why 
he did not move into the interior of the town, 
and he said that he could not afford it. In a 
German paper which recently found its way in, 
it was stated that the bombardment of Paris 
would commence when the psychological mo- 
ment had arrived. We are intensely indignant 
at this term ; we consider it so cold-blooded. 
It is like a doctor standing by a man on the 
rack, and feeling his pulse to see how many 
more turns of the screw he can bear. All the 
forts outside are still holding their own against 
the Prussian batteries. Issy has had as yet the 
greatest amount of attention paid to it by the 
besiegers. There is a battery at Meudon which 
seems never to tire of throwing shells into it. 
It is said, however, that the enemy is endeav- 
oring to establish breaching-guns at a closer 
range, in order to make his balls strike the 
ground and then bound into the fort — a mode 
of firing which was very successful at Strasburg. 

The sensation news of to-day is that Faid- 
herbe has driven Manteuffel across the Belgian 
frontier, and that Frederick Charles, who always 
seems to come to life after being killed, has been 
recalled from Orleans to Paris. The funds rose 
to-day one per cent, upon these rumors. Our 
chief confidence, however, just now is in Bour- 
baki ; we think that he has joined Garibaldi, 
and that these two will force the Prussians to 
raise the siege by throwing themselves on their 
communications. I only hope they may. 

Mr. Washburne has not been allowed to send 
out his weekly bag. I presume, however, that 
this embargo will not be kept up. The Gov- 
ernment has not yet announced its intention 
with respect to M. Jules Favre proceeding to 
London to represent France in the conferences 
on the Eastern Question. Most of the news- 
papers seem to be of opinion that until the Re- 
public has been officially recognized, it is not 
consistent with her dignity to take part in any 
European Conference. The diplomatists, who 
have been a little thrown in the background of 
late by wars and generals, must be delighted to 
find their old friend, the "Eastern Question," 



108 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Jan. 15th. 



cropping up. The settlement of the Schleswig- 
Holstein question was a heavy blow to them ; 
but for many a year they will have an opportu- 
nity to prose and protocol over Turkey. An 
Austrian wit — indeed the only wit that Austria 
ever produced — used to say that Englishmen 
could only talk about the weather, and that if 
by some dispensation of Providence there ever 
should be no such thing as weather, the whole 
English nation would become dumb. What 
the weather is to Englishmen the Eastern 
Question is to diplomatists. For their sakes, 
let us hope that it never will be satisfactorily 
settled. Diplomatists, like many other appar- 
ently useless beings, must live. 

January 15th. 

Yesterday we were made comparatively happy 
by a, report that the Prussian funds had fallen 
3 per cent, at Berlin. To-day we are told that 
Bourbaki has gained a great victory, raised the 
siege of Belfort, and is about to enter Germany. 
German newspapers up to the 7th have been 
seized at the advanced posts, but whatever in 
them tells against us we put down to a general 
conspiracy on the part of Europe to deceive us. 
It is somewhat curious to watch the transmuta- 
tions of the names of English statesmen after 
they have passed through a German and a 
Erench translation. Thus the latest news from 
London is that Mr. Hackington is made Irish 
Secretary, and that Mr. Floresko is Minister of 
Commerce. 

The diplomatists and consuls still at Paris 
have sent a collective note to Count Bismarck, 
complaining that the notice of the bombardment 
was not given, and asking him to afford them 
the means to place the persons and the proper- 
ty of their respective countiymen out of danger. 
The minnows sign with the whales. Mr. Wash- 
burne's name is inserted between that of the 
representative of Monaco and that of the Charge' 
d'Affaires of Honduras. 

The bombardment still continues. The can- 
non now make one continuous noise. Each 
particular discharge can not be distinguished. 
The shells fall on the left bank to a distance of 
about a mile from the ramparts. A return of 
the Official Journal gives 138 wounded and 51 
killed up to the 13th. Among the killed are 
18 children and 12 women ; among the wound- 
ed, 21 children and 45 women. Wagons and 
hand-carts packed with household goods are 
streaming in from the left to the right bank. 
In the bombarded quarters many shops are 
closed. Some householders have made a sort 
of casemate reaching to the first story of their 
houses ; others sleep in their cellars. The 
streets are, however, full of people, even in the 
most exposed districts ; and all the heights 
from which a view is to be had of the Prussian 
batteries are crowded with sight-seers. Every 
now and then one comes across some house 
through which a shell has passed. The public 
buildings have, as yet, suffered very slightly. 
The dome of the Pantheon, which we presume 
is used as a mark for the aim of the Prussian 



artillerymen, has been hit once. The shell has 
made a round hole in the dome, and it burst in- 
side the church. In the Jardin des Plantes all 
the glass of the conservatories has been shatter- 
ed by the concussion of the air, and the orchids 
and other tropical plants are dying. Although 
war and its horrors are thus brought home to 
our very doors, it is even still difficult to realize 
that great events are passing around us which 
history will celebrate in its most solemn and 
dignified style. Distance in battles lends grand- 
eur to the view. Had the charge of Balaclava 
taken place on Clapham Common, or had our 
gallant swordsmen replaced the donkeys on 
Hampstead Heath, even Tennyson would have 
been unable to poetize their exploits. When 
one sees stuck up in an omnibus-office that om- 
nibuses " will have to make a circuit from cause 
de bombar dement ;" when shells burst in restau- 
rants and maim the waiters ; when the trenches 
are in tea-gardens ; and when one is im*ited for 
a sou to look through a telescope at the enemy 
firing off their guns, there is a homely domestic 
air about the whole thing which is quite incon- 
sistent with " the pomp and pride of glorious 
war." 

On Friday night there was an abortive sortie 
at Clamart. Some of the newspapers say that 
the troops engaged in it were kept too long wait- 
ing, and that they warmed their feet by stamp- 
ing, and made so much noise that the Prussians 
caught wind of the gathering. Be this as it 
may, as soon as they got into Clamart they were 
received with volleys of musketry, and withdrew. 
I am told that the marching battalions of the 
National Guard, now in the trenches, are doing 
their work better than was expected. The 
generals in command are satisfied with them, 
but whether they will be of any great use for of- 
fensive operations, is a question yet to be solved. 
The clubs still keep up their outcry for "La 
Commune," which they imagine will prove a 
panacea for every evil. In the club of the Rue 
Arras last night, a speaker went a step still far- 
ther, and demanded " the establishment of an- 
archy as the ruling power." Trochu is still 
either attacked, or feebly defended, in the news- 
papers. The French are so accustomed to the 
State doing every thing for them, that their 
ruler is made responsible for every thing which 
goes wrong. The demand for a sortie en masse 
is not so strong. Every one is anxious not to 
surrender, and no one precisely knows how a 
surrender is to be avoided. Successes on paper 
have so long done duty for successes in the field, 
that no one, even yet, can believe that this paper 
currency has been so depreciated that bank- 
ruptcy must ensue. Is it possible, each man 
asks, that 500,000 armed Frenchmen will have 
to surrender to half the number of Germans ? 
And as they reply that it is impossible, they 
come to the conclusion that treason must be at 
work, and look round for the traitor. Trochu, 
who is as honest and upright as a man as he is 
incompetent as a general, will probably share 
the fate of the " Man of Sedan" and the " Man 



Jan. 16th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PAKIS. 



109 



of Metz," as they arc called. "He is aLaoc- 
oon," says M. Felix Pyat in his newspaper, with 
some confusion of metaphor, "who will strangle 
the Republic." 

We hear now that Government is undertak- 
f* ing an inquiry to discover precisely how long 
our stock of provisions will last. Matters are 
managed so carelessly, that I doubt whether the 
Minister of Commerce himself knows to within 
ten days the precise date when we shall be 
starved out. The rations of meat now amount 
to one-twenty-seventh of a pound per diem for 
each adult. At the fashionable restaurants the 
supply is unlimited, and the price as unlimited. 
Two cutlets of donkey cost 18 francs, and every 
thing else in the way of animal food is in propor- 
tion. The real vital question, however, is how 
long the bread will last. In some arrondissements 
the supply fails after 8 o'clock in the morning ; 
at others, each resident receives one pound upon 
production of a carte de subsistence. The dis- 
tribution has been thrown into disorder by the 
people from the bombarded quarters flocking 
into the central ones, and wanting to be fed. 
The bread itself is poor stuff. Only one kind 
is allowed to be manufactured; it is dark in 
color, heavy, pasty, and gritty. There is as lit- 
tle corn in it as there is malt in London beer 
when barley is dear. The misery among the 
poorer classes is every day on the increase. 
Most of the men manage to get on with their 1 
fr. 50 c. a day. In the morning they go to ex- 
ercise, and afterwards loll about until night in 
cafe's and pot-houses, making up with liquids 
for the absence of solids. As for doing regular 
work, they scoff at the idea. Master-tailors and 
others tell me that it is almost impossible to get 
hands to do the few orders which are now given. 
They are warmly clad in uniforms by the State, 
and except those belonging to the marching 
battalions really doing duty outside, I do not 
pity them. With the women and children the 
case is different. The latter, owing to bad 
nourishment and exposure, are dying off like 
rotten sheep; the former have but just enough 
food to keep body and soul together, and to ob- 
tain even this they have to stand for hours be- 
fore the doors of the butchers and bakers, wait- 
ing for their turn to be served. And yet they 
make no complaints, but patiently suffer, buoy- 
ed up, poor people, by the conviction that by so 
doing they will prevent the Prussians from en- 
tering the town. If one of them ventures to 
hint at a capitulation, she is set on by her neigh- 
bors. Self-assertion, however, carries the day. 
Jules and Jacques will hereafter quaff many a 
petit verre to their own heroism ; and many a 
story will they inflict upon their long-suffering 
friends redounding to their own special glory. 
Their wives will be told that they ought to be 
proud to have such men for husbands. But 
Jules and Jacques are in reality but arrant hum- 
bugs. Whilst they boozed, their wives starved ; 
whilst they were warmly clad, their wives were 
in rags ; whilst they were drinking confusion to 
their enemies in some snug room, their wives 



were freezing at the baker's door for their ra- 
tion of bread. In Paris the women — I speak 
of those of the poorer classes — are of more ster- 
ling stuff than the men. They suffer far more, 
and they repine much less. I admire the crowd 
of silent, patient women, huddling together for 
warmth every morning, as they wait until their 
pittance is doled out to them, far more than the 
martial heroes, who foot it behind a drum and 
a trumpet to crown a statue, to visit a tomb, 
and to take their turn on the ramparts ; or the 
heroes of the pen, who day after day, from some 
cosy office, issue a manifesto announcing that 
victory is certain, because they have made a pact 
with death. 

January 16th. 

If I am to believe the Paris papers, the Port 
of Issy is gradually extinguishing the guns of 
the Prussian batteries which bear on it. If I 
am to believe my eves, the Fort of Issy is not re- 
plying at all to these said guns ; and if I am to 
believe competent military authorities, in about 
eighteen days from now at the latest the Port of 
Issy will cease to be a fort. The batteries at 
Meudon appeared to-day to be of opinion that 
the guns were effectually silenced, and shells 
fell thick and fast on the bastions at Point-du- 
Jour; so well aimed were they, that between 
the bastions a looker-on was in comparative 
safety. The noise, however, of the duel be- 
tween the bastions and the batteries was so 
deafening, that it was literally impossible for 
two persons to hear each other speak at a few 
feet distance ; the shells, too, which were pass- 
ing to the right and left seemed to give the 
whole air a tremulous motion. At the bastions 
the artillery-men were working their guns, but 
the National Guards on duty were under cover. 
The houses, on both sides of the Seine, within 
the city, for about half a mile from the viaduct, 
are deserted ; not above a dozen of them, I 
should imagine, are still inhabited. Outside, 
in the villages of Vanvres and Issy, several fires 
have broken out, but they have been prompt- 
ly extinguished, and there has been no general 
conflagration. The most dangerous spot in this 
direction is a road which runs behind the Ports 
of Vanvres and Montrouge ; as troops are fre- 
quently marching along it the Prussians direct 
their guns from Clamart and Chatillon on it. 
In the trenches the danger is not great, and there 
are but few casualties ; the shells pass over them. 
If any one, however, exposes himself, a ball about 
the size of an egg, from a canon de rampart, 
whizzes by him, as a gentle reminder to keep 
under cover. The area of the bombardment is 
slightly extending, and will, I presume, very 
soon reach the right bank. More people are 
killed in the daytime than at night, because they 
will stand in groups, notwithstanding every 
warning, and stare at any house which has been 
damaged. 

The bill of mortality for the week ending s 
January 13th gives an increase on the previous 
week of 302; the number of deaths registered 
is 3982. This is at the rate of above twenty 



110 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Jan. IGth. 



per cent, per annum, and it must be remember- 
ed that in this return those who die in the pub- 
lic hospitals, or of the direct effect of the war, 
are not included. Small-pox is about station- 
ary, bronchitis and pneumonia largely on the 
increase. 

Bourbaki, we are told to-day, is at Freiburg,' 
in the Grand Duchy of Baden. The latest Ger- 
man papers announce that Me'zieres has fallen, 
and it seems to occur to no one that Gambetta's 
last pigeon-dispatch informed us that the siege 
of this place had been raised. La Liberie thus 
sums up the situation: — "Nancy menaced; 
Belfort freed ; Baden invaded ; Hamburg about 
to be bombarded. This is the reply of France to 
the bombardment of Paris. The hour has ar- 
rived ; the Prussians, brought to bay, hope to 
find refuge in Paris. This is their last hope ; 
their last resource." 

In order to encourage us to put up with our 
short commons, we are now perpetually being 
told that the Government has in reserve vast 
stores of potted meats, cheese, butter, and other 
luxuries, of which we have almost forgotten the 
very taste ; and that when things come to the 
worst we shall turn the corner, and enter into a 
period of universal abundance. These stores 
seem to me much like the mirage which lures 
on the traveller of the desert, and which perpet- 
ually recedes as he advances. But the great dif- 
ficulty of the moment is to procure fuel. I am 
ready, as some one said, to eat the soles of my 
boots for the sake of my country ; but then they 
must be cooked. All the mills are on the 
Marne, and can not be approached. Steam 
mills have been put up, but they work slowly ; 
and whatever may be the amount of corn yet 
in store, it is almost impossible to grind enough 
of it to meet the daily requirements. 

A good deal of discussion is going on as to 
the time which it will take to revictual Paris ; 
it is thought that it can be done in seven days, 
but I do not myself see how it is to be done in 
any thing like this time. One of the principal 
English bankers here has, I understand, sent an 
agent by balloon to buy boats of small draught 
in England, in order to bring provisions up the 
Seine. As a speculation, I should imagine that 
the best plan would be to amass them on the 
Belgian or Luxemburg frontier. About two- 
thirds of the population will be without means 
to buy food, even if the food were at their doors. 
Trade and industry will not revive for some 
time ; they will consequently be entirely de- 
pendent upon the State for their means of sub- 
sistence. Even if work is offered to them, 
many of them will not be able at once to reas- 
sume their habits of daily industry; the Bohe- 
mian life which they have led for the last four 
months, and which they are still leading, is 
against it. A siege is so abnormal a condition 
of things, that the State has been obliged to pay 
them for doing practically nothing, as other- 
wise they would have fallen into the hands of 
the anarchists; but this pottering about from 
day to day with a gun, doing nothing except 



play at billiards and drink, has been very de- 
moralizing, and it will be long before its effect 
ceases to be felt. 

The newspapers are somewhat irreverent over 
the diplomatic protest against the bombardment. 
They say that while Paris is deserted by the 
Great European Powers, it is a source of pleas- 
ure to think that the Principality of Monaco 
and the Republics of San Marino and Hondu- 
ras still stand by her. They suggest that M. 
Jules Favre should go to Andorre to endeavor 
to induce that republic also to reason with the 
Prussians upon the bombardment. I am told 
that the " proud young porter," who, now the 
sheep is dead, represents alone the Majesty of 
England at the British Embassy, is indignant at 
not having been invited to add his signature to 
the protest. He considers — and justly I think 
— that he is a far more important personage 
than the Plenipotentiary of his Highness of 
Monaco ; a despot who exercises sway over 
about twenty acres of orange-trees, sixty nouses, 
and two roulette-tables. The diplomatists are 
not, however, alone in their protest. Every 
body has protested, and is still protesting. If 
it is a necessity of war to throw shells into a 
densely populated town like this, it is — to say 
the least — a barbarous necessity ; but it seems 
to me that it is but waste of time and paper to 
register protests against it ; and if it be thought 
desirable to do so, it would be far more reason- 
able to protest against human beings — women 
and children — being exposed to its effects, than 
to indite plaintive elegies about the possibility 
of the Venus de Milo being damaged, or the 
orchids in the hot-houses being killed. I know 
that, for my part, I would rather that every 
statue and every plant in the world were smash- 
ed to atoms by shells, than that I were. This, 
in an aesthetical point of view, is selfish ; but it 
is none the less true. Chacun pour soi. The 
Panthe'on was struck yesterday. What dese- 
cration ! every one cries ; and I am very sorry 
for the Pantheon, but very glad that it was the 
Pantheon, and not me. The world at large, 
very likely, would lose more by the destruction 
of the Panthe'on than of any particular individ- 
ual ; but each particular individual prefers his 
own humble self to all the edifices that architects 
have raised on the face of the globe. 

I have been endeavoring to discover wheth- 
er, in the councils of our rulers, the question as 
to what is to be done in the possible contingen- 
cy of a capitulation becoming necessary, has 
been raised. As far as I can hear, the contin- 
gency is not yet officially recognized as within 
the realms of possibility, and it has never been 
alluded to. General Trochu has officially an- 
nounced "that the Governor of Paris will nev- 
er capitulate." His colleagues have periodical- 
ly said much the same thing. The most prac- 
tical of them, M. Ernest Picard, has, I believe, 
once or twice endeavored to lead up to the sub- 
ject, but he has failed in the attempt. News- 
paper articles and Government proclamations 
tell the population every day that they only 



Jan. 17th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PAKIS. 



Ill 



have to persevere in order ultimately to tri- 
umph. If the end must come, it is difficult to 
see how it will come. I have asked many in- 
telligent persons what they think will happen. 



to keep them for ourselves. (Yes, Yes.) A 
Pole, the Citizen Strassnowski, undertakes to 
defend the Government. He obtains a hear- 
ing, but not without difficulty. You complain 



but no one seems to have a very distinct notion j that the Government, he says, has not cast more 
respecting it. Some think the Government < cannon. Where were the artillery-men ? (Our- 



wiH issue some day a notice to say that there 
are only provisions for a week longer; and that 
at the end of this time the gates of the city will 



selves.) But three months ago you were citi- 
zens, you were not soldiers. In making you 
march and counter-march in the streets and on 



be opened, and the Prussians told that, if they the ramparts you have been converted into sol- 
insist upon entering, there will be nothing to j diers. The Government was right, therefore, 
prevent them. Others think that the Govern- I to wait. (Murmurs.) The orator is not angry 
ment will resign their power into the hands '. with the German nation; he is angry only with 
of the mayors, as the direct representatives of j the potentates who force the people to kill each 
Paris. Trochu rides about a good deal outside, | other; and he hopes that the day will come 
and says to the soldiers, "Courage, my chil- j when the European nations will shake hands 
dren, the moment is coming." But to what | over the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Balkan, and 
moment he alludes no one is aware. No word ! the mountains of Carpathia. (Feeble applause 
is more abused in the French language than j and murmurs.) A citizen begs the audience 
"sublime." To call a folly a sublime folly is to have patience with the Citizen Strassnowski, 
considered a justification of any species of ab- who is a worthy man and a volunteer; but the 
surdity. We call this refusal to anticipate a citizen then reproaches the worthy man for hav- 
contingency which certainly is possible, if not j ing attempted to defend a Government whose 
probable, sublime. We are proud of it, and 
sleep on in our fool's paradise as though it were 
to last forever. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

January 17tk. 

The papers publish reports of the meetings 
of ttie clubs. The following is from the Debats 
of to-day : 

"At the extremity of the Rue Faubourg St. 
Antoine is a dark passage, and in a room which 
opens into this passage is the Club de la Re- 
vendication. The audience is small, and con- 
sists mainly of women, who come there to keep 
warm. The club is peaceable — hardly revolu- 
tionary — for Rome is Rome no more, and the 
Faubourg St. Antoine, formerly so turbulent, 
has resigned in favor of Belleville and La Vil- 
lette. Yesterday evening the Club de la Re- 
vendication was occupied, as usual, in discuss- 
ing the misery of the situation, and the necessi- 



incapacity is a matter of notoriety. Come 
now, Citizen Strassnowski, he says, what has 
the Government done to merit your praise ? 
It has armed us and exercised us ; but why ? 
To deliver us over with our guns and our can- 
nons to the Prussians after we have all caught 
cold on the ramparts. Has it tried to utilize 
us? No, it has passively looked on whilst the 
Prussians surrounded Paris with a triple circle 
of citadels. 

" We are told every day that the armies of the 
provinces will deliver us. We do not see them. 
We are not even secure in Paris. Every kind 
of story is afloat. Yesterday it was reported 
that General Schmitz had betrayed us ; to-day 
it is an actress who has arrested a spy whose 
cook was on intimate terms with a cook of the 
member of the Government. Why these re- 
ports ? Because the Government has no moral 
support, and no one feels confidence in it. In 
the mean time the food gets less and less, and 
this morning at eight o'clock all the bakers 



ty of electing a Commune. An orator, whose ! in this arrondissement had closed their shops. 



patriotic enthusiasm attained almost to frenzy, 
declared that as for himself he scorned hams 
and sausages in plenty, and that he preferred to 
live on the air of liberty. (The women sigh.) 



(True, true ; we waited five hours at the closed 
doors.) When we get the bread, it is more like 
plaster than bread. In the third arrondisse- 
ment, on the other hand, it is good and plenti- 



Another speaker is of opinion that if there were • ful. So much for the organizing spirit of the 



a Commune there would also be hams and 
sausages in plenty. We still pay, he says, the 
budget of the clergy, as though Bonaparte were 
still on the throne, instead of having rationed 
the large appetites and forced every one to live 
on 1 fr. 50 c. a day. In order to make his 
meaning clear the orator uses the following 
comparison : Suppose, he says, that I am a 
peasant, and that I have fattened a chicken. 



Government. We have to wait hours for bread, 
hours for wood, and hours for meat ; and fre- 
quently we do not get either bread, meat, or 
wood. Things can not last long like this, my 
worthy Strassnowski. The speaker concludes 
by urging the people to take the direction of 
their affairs into their own hands. (Cries of 
'Vive la Commune.') The President urges 
his hearers to subscribe towards a society, the 



(Excitement.) Were I obliged to give the object of which is civic instruction. The club 



wings to ;he clergy, the legs to the military, 
and the carcass to civil functionaries, there 
would be nothing of my chicken left for me. 
Well, this is our case. We fatten chickens ; 
others eat them. It would be far wiser for us 



breaks up, the President is applauded. 

Here is another description of a club meet- 
ing from the same journal : 

" The laurels of Belleville prevented La Vil- 
lette from sleeping. La Villette, therefore, de- 



112 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Jan. 17th. 



termined to have, like her rival, a central dem- 
ocratic and social club, and yesterday she in- 
augurated in the Salle Marseillaise an opposi- 
tion to the 'Rue Eae.' In some respects the 
Marseillaise club is even more democratic than 
her parent. The Salle is a sort of barn, and 
the sans culottes themselves, notwithstanding 
their horror of all luxury, hardly found its com- 
forts sufficient for them. The Club Faire, with 
its paintings on the walls and its lustres, has a 
most aristocratic air in comparison with this 
new hall of democracy. To judge by its first 
seance, the Club Marseillaise promises well. 
Last night enough treasons were unveiled to 
make the fortune of most other clubs for a week 
at least. From the commencement of the war 
we have been in the meshes of a vast net-work 
of treason ; and these meshes can only be bro- 
ken through by the Commune and the Repub- 
lic. The conspiracy was hatched long ago be- 
tween the Emperors and the Kings, and the 
other enemies of the people. The war had 
been arranged among them, and it is an error 
to suppose that we were beaten at Rhichshofen 
or Se'dan. 'No,' cried an orator, with convic- 
tion, ' we have never been defeated ; but we 
have been betrayed.' ('True.' Applause. 
'We are still betrayed.') 'The men of the 
Hotel de Ville imitate Bonaparte, and, like him, 
they have an understanding with the Prussians, 
to enslave the people, after having betrayed the 
country. To whom then must we turn to save 
the country ? To the Legitimists ? To the 
Orleanists?' (No, no.) The orator does not 
hesitate to avow that he would turn to them if 
they could save France. (Impossible.) Yes, it 
is impossible for them. The orator admits it ; 
and all the more because Legitimists and Or- 
leanists are enrolled in the conspiracy against 
the nation. The people can be the only sav- 
iours of the people, by the establishment of 
the commune ; and this is why the men of the 
Hotel de Ville and the Reactionists are opposed 
to its establishment. 

"A second speaker abandons the question of 
the Commune and of the conspiracy, in order to 
call attention to the resignation of Citizen De- 
lescluze, late mayor of the nineteenth arron- 
dissement. While this orator thinks that it 
would be unjust to accuse the patriot Deles- 
cluze of treason, he ought not the less to be 
blamed for having abandoned a post to which 
he had been called by his fellow-citizens. The 
people elected him, and he had no right to put 
his resignation in the hands of the men of the 
Hotel de Ville in the critical circumstances in 
which we find ourselves — at a moment when 
the tide of misery is mounting — when the may- 
ors have a great mission to fulfill. What has 
been the consequence of this act of weakness ? 
The men of the Hotel de Ville have named a 
commission to administer the nineteenth arron- 
dissement exactly as was done under Bona- 
parte. This is what we citizens of Belleville 
have gained by the desertion of Delescluze. 
(Applause.) A citizen pushes his way to the 



tribune to justify the mayor. He admits that 
at first sight it is difficult to approve of a mag- 
istrate who has been elected by the people re- 
signing his office at the very moment when the 
people have the greatest need of him, but — 
and again we get into the dark mystery of the 
conspiracy — if he gave in his resignation, it was ' 
because he would not be an accomplice of trea- 
son. In a meeting presided over by Jules 
Favre, what do you suppose the mayors were 
asked to do ? (Here the orator pauses a mo- 
ment to take breath. The curiosity of the au- 
dience is intense.) They were asked to take 
part in the capitulation. (Violent murmurs — 
Infamous.) Well yes — Delescluze would have 
nothing to do with this infamy, and he with- 
drew. Besides, there was another reason. In 
the division of the succor afforded to necessi- 
tous citizens the nineteenth arrondissement was 
only supposed to have 4000 indigent persons, 
whilst in reality the number is 50,000; and by 
this means it was hoped that the popularity of 
this pure Republican w T ould suffer, and perhaps 
riots break out which would be put down — (the 
divulgation of this plot against the mayor of the 
nineteenth arrondissement is received in differ- 
ent ways. A person near us observes — 'AH 
the same, he ought not to have resigned'). 

"This incident over, the discussion goes back 
to the treasons of the Hotel de Ville. It is 
well known, says a speaker, that a sortie had 
been determined on in a Council composed 
of four generals, presided over by Trochu, and 
that the next morning the Prussians were in- 
formed of it. Who told them? who betrayed 
us ? Was it Schmitz, or another general ? (A 
voice : ' It was the man who eats pheasants.' 
Indignation.) In any case, Trochu is respon- 
sible, even if he was not the traitor himself. 
('Yes, yes; it was Trochu!') Another citi- 
zen, not personally known to the audience, but 
who announces that he lives in the Rue Chas- 
son, says that he has received by accident a con- 
fidential communication which, perhaps, may 
throw some light on the affair. This citizen 
has some friends who are the friends of Ledru 
Rollin and of the citizen Tibaldi ; and one of 
these friends heard a friend say that either 
Ledru Rollin or Tibaldi had heard Trochu say 
that it was impossible to save Paris ; but that 
he would have 30,000 men killed, and then ca- 
pitulate. (Murmurs of indignation.) The citi- 
zen of the Rue Chasson has received a second 
confidential communication, which corroborates 
the first. He has been told by one of his neigh- 
bors that every thing is ready for a capitulation, 
and he thinks that he will soon be enabled to 
communicate something still more important on 
this subject ; but in the mean while he entreats 
the energetic citizens of Belleville — (indigna- 
tion : ' This is not Belleville ')— pardon, of La 
Villette and of the other Republican faubourgs, 
to keep their eyes on the Government. They 
must have no confidence in the quartlers in- 
side the town. The Rue Chasson, in which he 
lives, is utterly demoralized. La Villette, with 



Jan. 19th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



113 



Belleville and Montmartre, must save Paris. 
(Applause.) 

"Another citizen says that he has of late 
frequently heard the odious word capitulation. 
How can it be otherwise ? Every thing is being 
done to make it necessary. We, the National 
Guard, who receive 1 fr. 50 c. a day, are called 
the indigent. What do the robbers and the 
beggars who thus insult us do ? They indulge 
in orgies in the fashionable restaurants. The 
Zoological Gardens have been shut. Why? 
Because the elephants, the tigers, and other 
rare animals have been sold in order to ena- 
ble wretches who laugh at the public misery to 
gorge themselves. What can we, the indigent, 
as they call us, do with 30 sous, when a few po- 
tatoes cost 30 fr.,and a piece of celery 2 fr. ? 
And they talk now of capitulating, because they 
have grown rich on the war. Every one knows 
that it was made in order that speculators 
should make fortunes. As long as they had 
goods to sell at ten times their value they were 
for resistance to the death. Now that they 
have nothing more to sell, they talk of capitula- 
ting. Ah ! when one thinks of these scandals 
one is almost inclined to blow one's brains out. 
(Laughter and applause.) 

"A fourth citizen takes up the same theme 
with the same energy and conviction. He 
knows, he says, a restaurant which is frequented 
by bank clerks, and where last week there were 
eaten two cows and a calf, whilst the ambulance 
opposite was without fresh meat. (Violent 
murmurs.) This is a part of the system of 
Trochu and his colleagues. They starve us 
and they betray us. Trochu, it is true, has said 
that he would not capitulate, but we know what 
that means. When we are worn out and de- 
moralized he will demand a fresh plebiscite on 
the question of a capitulation, and then he will 
say that the people, and not he, capitulated. 
('True, he is a Jesuit.') We must make an 
end of these speculators and traitors. (' Yes, 
yes, it is time.') We must have the Commune. 
We have not more than eighteen days of pro- 
visions, and we want fifteen of them to revictual. 
If the Commune is not proclaimed in three 
days we are lost. ('True. La Commune! 
La Commune !') The orator explains how the 
Commune will save Paris. It will establish 
domiciliary visits not only among the shop- 
keepers, but among private persons who have 
stores of provisions. Besides, he adds, when 
all the dogs are eaten we will eat the traitors. 
(Laughter and applause.) The Commune will 
organize at the same time a sortie en masse, the 
success of which is infallible. From statistics 
furnished by Gambetta it results that at this 
moment there are not above 75,000 Prussians 
around Paris. And shall our army of 500,000 
men remain stationary before this handful of 
Germans ? Absurd. The Commune will burst 
through this pretended circle of iron. It will 
put an end to treason. It will place two com- 
missaries by the side of each general. (The 
evening before, at the club in the Rue Blanche, 
H 



one commissary with a revolver had been pro- 
posed. At the Marseillaise two were thought 
requisite. This evening, probably at the Club 
Faire, in order to beat La Villette, three will be 
the number. The position of a general of the 
Commune will not be an easy one.) These 
commissaries, continues the orator, will watch all 
the movements of the general. At the first sign 
he gives of yielding, they will blow his brains 
out. Inexorably placed between victory and 
death, he will choose the former. (General ap- 
probation.) The hour is getting late, but be- 
fore concluding the sitting, the President an- 
nounces that the moment is approaching when 
Republicans must stand shoulder to shoulder. 
Patriots are invited to give in their names and 
addresses, in order to be found when they are 
wanted. This proposal is adopted by acclama- 
tion. A certain number of citizens register 
their names, and then the meeting breaks up 
with a shout of ' Viva la Commune de Paris !' " 

January 19th. 
All yesterday artillery was rolling and troops 
were marching through Paris on their way to 
the Porte de Neuilly. The soldiers of the line 
were worn and ragged ; the marching battal- 
ions of the National Guards, spick and span in 
their new uniforms. All seemed in good spirits, 
the soldiers, after the wont of their countrymen, 
were making jokes with each other, and with 
every one else — the National Guards were sing- 
ing songs. In some instances they were ac- 
companied by their wives and sweethearts, who 
carried their muskets or clung to their arms. 
Most of them looked strong, well-built men, 
and I have no doubt that in three or four 
months, under a good general, they would 
make excellent soldiers. In the Champs Ely- 
se'es, there were large crowds to see them pass. 
" Pauvres garcons," I heard many girls say, 
"who knows how many will return !" And it 
was indeed a sad sight, these honest bourgeois, 
who ought to be in their shops or at their coun- 
ters, ill-drilled, unused to war, marching forth 
with stout hearts, but with little hope of success, 
to do battle for their native city against the 
iron legions which are beleaguering it. They 
went along the Avenue de la Grande Armee, 
crossed the bridge of Neuilly over the Seine, 
and bivouacked for the night in what is called 
the "Peninsule of Gennevyiiers." This penin- 
sula is formed by a loop in the Seine. Maps 
of the environs of Paris must be plentiful in 
London, and a glance at one will make the to- 
pography of to-day's proceedings far clearer than 
any description. The opening of the loop is 
hilly, and the hills run along the St. Cloud side 
of the loop as far as Mont Valerien, and on the 
other side as far as Rueil. About half a mile 
from Mont Vale'rien following the river is St 
Cloud ; and between St. Cloud and the Park of 
the same name is Montretout, a redoubt which 
was commenced by the French, but which, 
since the siege began, has been held by the 
Prussians. The enemy's line extends across 
the loop from Montretout through Garches to 



114 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Jan. 19th. 



LaMalmaison. The latter lies just below Rueil, 
which is a species of neutral village. The 
troops passed the night in the upper part of the 
loop. In numbers they were about 90,000, as 
far as I can ascertain, and they had with them 
a formidable field-artillery. The object of the 
sortie was a vague idea to push forward, if pos- 
sible, to Versailles. Most of the generals were 
opposed to it, and thought that it would be wiser 
to make frequent sudden attacks on the enemy's 
lines ; but General Public Opinion insisted 
upon a grand operation ; and this anonymous 
but all-powerful General, as usual, carried the 
day. The plan appears to have been this : one 
half the army was under General Vinoy, the 
other half under General Ducrot. The former 
was to attack Montretout and Garches, the lat- 
ter was to push forward through Rueil and La 
Malmaison, carry the heights of La Jonchere, 
and then unite with Vinoy at Garches. Gen- 
eral Trochu, from an observatory in Mont Va- 
lerien, commanded the whole movement. At 
7 o'clock troops were pushed forward against 
Montretout. 

This redoubt was held by about 200 Poles 
from Posen ; and they made so determined a 
resistance that the place was not taken until 
9 30. No guns were found in the redoubt. 
At the same time, General Bellemare, who 
commands one of Vinoy's divisions, advanced 
on Garches, and occupied the wood and park 
of Buzanval, driving in the Prussian outposts. 
Here several battalions of the National Guards 
were engaged. Although their farther advance 
was arrested by a stone wall, from behind which 
the Prussians fired, they maintained themselves 
in the wood and the park. The Prussians now 
opened a heavy fire along the line. At Mon- 
tretout it was impossible to get a single gun 
into position. This went on until a little after 
three o'clock. By this time reinforcements 
had come up from Versailles, and were pushed 
forward against the centre of the Feenel line. 
At the same time shells fell upon the reserves, 
which consisted of National Guards, and which 
were drawn up upon the incline of the heights 
looking towards Paris. They were young 
troops, and for young troops nothing is so try- 
ing as being shelled without being allowed to 
move. They broke and fell back. Their com- 
panions who were in advance, and who held the 
crest of the heights, saw themselves deserted, 
and at the same time saw the attacking column 
coming forward, and they too fell back. The 
centre of the position was thus lost. A hur- 
ried consultation was held, and Montretout and 
Buvenval were evacuated. 

As night closed the French troops were fall- 
ing back to their bivouacs of the previous night, 
and the Prussians were recrossing the trench 
which formed their advanced posts in the morn- 
ing. The day was misty, the mud was so deep 
that walking was difficult, and I could not follow 
very clearly the movements of the troops from 
the house in which I had ensconced myself. 
What became of General Ducrot no one seem- 



ed to know. I have since learnt that he ad- 
vanced with little resistance through Rueil and 
La Malmaison, and that he then fought during 
the day at La Jonchere, detaching a body of 
troops towards the Park of Buzanval. He ap- 
pears, however, to have failed in taking La 
Celle St. Cloud, and from thence flanking La 
Bergerie, and marching on Garches. Every 
thing is consequently very much where it was 
this morning before the engagement took place. 
It has been the old story. The Prussians did 
not defend their first line, but fell back on their 
fixed batteries, there keeping up a heavy fire 
until reinforcements had had time to be brought 
up. 

More troops are ordered out for to-morrow ; 
so I presume that the battle is to be renewed. 
If it ends in a defeat, the consequences will be 
serious, for the artillery can only be brought 
back to Paris by one bridge. The wounded 
are numerous. In the American ambulance, 
which is close by in the Champs Elyse'es, there 
arc about seventy. In the Grand Hotel they 
are arriving every moment. The National 
Guard at Buzanval behaved very fairly under 
fire. Many of them had not been above a few 
days in uniform. Their officers were in many 
cases as inexperienced as the men. During the 
fight companies of them were wandering about 
looking for their battalions, and men for their 
companies. As citizen soldiers, they did their 
best, and individually they were made of good 
stuff; but the moral is — do not employ citizen 
soldiers for offensive operations. When I re- 
turned into the town at about 5 o'clock this af- 
ternoon, the peninsula of Gennevilliers resem- 
bled the course at Epsom on a wet Derby Day. 
To my civilian eyes, cavalry, artillery, and in- 
fantry seemed to be in inextricable confusion. 

This morning the bread was rationed all over 
the city. No one is to have more than 300 
grammes per diem ; children only 150. I rec- 
ommend any one who has lived too high to try 
this regime for a week. It will do him good. 
No costermonger's donkey is so overloaded as 
the stomachs of most rich people. The Govern- 
ment on December 12 solemnly announced that 
the bread never would be rationed. This meas- 
ure, therefore, looks to me very much like the 
beginning of the end. A perquisition is also 
being made in search of provisions in the apart- 
ments of all those who have quitted Paris. An- 
other sign of the end. But it is impossible to 
know on how little a Frenchman can live until 
the question has been tested. I went yesterday 
into the house of a friend of mine, in the Ave- 
nue de lTmperatrice, which is left in charge of a 
servant, and found three families, driven out of 
their homes by the bombardment, installed in 
it — one family, consisting of a father, a moth- 
er, and three children, were boiling a piece of 
horse-meat, about four inches square, in a 
bucketful of water. This exceedingly thin soup 
was to last them for three days. The day be- 
fore they had each had a carrot. The trou- 
ble of the bread is that the supply ceases before 



Jan. 20th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



11! 



the demand in most quarters, so that those who 
come last get none. My friend's servant was 
giving a dinner to the English coachman. The 
sole dish was a cat with mice round it. I tasted 
one of the latter, crunching the bones as if it 
had been a lark. I can recommend mice, when 
nothing more substantial is to be obtained. 

I hear that a pigeon has arrived this evening. 
Its dispatch has not yet been published. The 
' ' traitor-mania " still rages. Last night at the 
Belleville Club an orator announced an awful 
discovery — the bread was being poisoned by 
traitors. The correspondent of one of your 
contemporaries, having heard that he had been 
accused of being a Prussian spy, went to-day 
to the Prefect of the Police. This august be- 
ing told him that he did not suspect him, and 
then showed him a file of papers duly docketed 
relating to each London paper which is repre- 
sented here. For my part, although I have not 
failed to blame what I thought blamable, and 
although I have not gone into ecstasies over the 
bombastic nonsense which is the legacy of the 
vile despotism to which the French were foolish 
enough to submit for twenty years, and which 
has vitiated the national character, I have en- 
deavored in my correspondence to be. as far as 
was consistent with truth, "to all their virtues 
very kind, to all their faults a little blind." 

January 20th. 

This morning several fresh regiments of Na- 
tional Guards were ordered to march out to the 
Isthmus of Gennevilliers. I accompanied one 
of them ; but when we got into Neuilly a coun- 
ter-order came, and they were marched back. 
Every house in Neuilly and Courbevoie was full 
of troops, and regiments were camping out in 
the fields, where they had passed the night with- 
out tents. Many of the men had been so tired 
that they had thrown themselves down in the 
mud, which was almost knee-deep, and thus 
fallen asleep with their muskets by their sides. 
Bitter were the complaints of the commissariat. 
Bread and eau de vie were at a high premium. 
Many of the men had thrown away their knap- 
sacks, with their loaves strapped to them, dur- 
ing the action, and these were now the property 
of the Prussians. It is impossible to imagine 
a more forlorn and dreary scene. Some of the 
regiments — chiefly those which had not been in 
the action — kept well together ; but there were 
a vast number of stragglers wandering about 
looking for their battalions and their compa- 
nies. At about twelve o'clock it became known 
that the troops were to re-enter Paris, and that 
the battle was not to be renewed ; and at about 
one the march through the gate of Neuilly com- 
menced, colors flying and music playing, as 
though a victory had been won. I remained 
there some time watching the crowd that had 
congregated at each side of the road. Most of 
the lookers-on appeared to be in a condition of 
blank despair. They had believed so fully that 
the grand sortie must end in a grand victory, 
that they could hardly believe their eyes when 
they saw their heroes returning into Paris, in- 



stead of being already at Versailles. There 
were many women anxiously scanning the lines 
of soldiers as they passed by, and asking every 
moment whether some relative had been killed. 
As I came home down the Champs Elysees, it 
was full of knots of three and four soldiers, who 
seemed to consider that it was a waste of time 
and energy to keep up with their regiments. 

In the evening papers the dispatch announc- 
ing the defeat of Chanzy has been published, 
and a request from Trochu to General Schmitz 
to apply at once for an armistice of two days to 
bury the dead. "The fog," he adds, "is very 
dense," and certainly this fog appears to have 
got into the worthy man's brain. Almost all 
the wounded have already been picked up by the 
French and the Prussian ambulances. Nearly 
all the dead are in what are now the Prussian 
lines, and will no doubt be buried by them. In 
the afternoon, as a suspension of arms for two 
hours was agreed to, our ambulances pushed 
forward, and brought back a few wounded, but 
not many. Most of those who had fallen in the 
Prussian lines had already been moved, their of- 
ficers said, to St. Germain and St. Cloud, where 
they would be cared for. At three p.m. Jules 
Favre summoned the Mayors to a consultation, 
and General Trochu also came in to the Minis- 
try of Foreign Affairs for half an hour, and then 
returned to Vale'rien. The feeling against him 
is very strong. It is said that he has offered 
to resign; and I think it very probable that 
he will be the Jonah thrown out to the whale. 
But will this sacrifice save the ship? All 
the Generals are roundly abused. Indeed, in 
France there is no medium between the Capitol 
and the Tarpeian Rock. A man who is not a 
victor must be a traitor. That undisciplined 
National Guards fresh from their shops should 
be unable to carry by assault batteries held by 
German troops, is a thing which never can be 
admitted. If they fail to do this, it is the fault 
of their leaders. 

Among those who were killed yesterday is M. 
Regnault, the painter who obtained at the last 
salon the gold medal for his picture of "Sa- 
lome." He went into action with a card on his 
breast, on which he had written his name and 
the address of the young lady to whom he was 
engaged to be married. When the brancardiers 
picked him up, he had just strength to point to 
this address. Before they could carry him there 
he was dead. But the most painful scene during 
the battle was the sight of a French soldier who 
fell by French balls. He was a private in the 
119th battalion, and refused to advance. His 
commander remonstrated. The private shot 
him. General Bellemare, who was near, ordered 
the man to be killed at once. A file was drawn 
up and fired on him ; he fell, and was supposed 
to be dead. Some brancardiers soon afterwards 
passing by, and thinking that he had been wound- 
ed in the battle, placed him on a stretcher. It 
was then discovered that he was still alive. A 
soldier went up to him to finish him off, but his 
gun missed fire. Pie was then handed another, 



116 



THE BESIEGED EESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Jan. 21st. 



when he blew out the wretched man's brains. 
From all I can learn from the people connected 
with the different ambulances, our loss yester- 
day does not amount to above 2000 killed and 
wounded. Most of the newspapers estimate it 
far higher. At Buzenval, where the only really 
sharp fighting took place, an officer who was in 
command tells me that there were about 300 
killed. For the sake of humanity, it is to be 
hoped that we shall have no more of these blind 
sorties. The French get through the first Prus- 
sian lines ; they are then arrested by the fire of 
the batteries in the second line ; reinforcements 
are brought up by the enemy; and the well- 
known movement to the rear commences. ' ' Our 
losses," say the official reports the next morn- 
ing, " are great ; those of the enemy enormous. 
Our troops fought with distinguished valor, 
but—" 

January 21s£. 
It was so wet last night that there were but 
few groups of people on the Boulevards. At 
the clubs Trochu was universally denounced. 
Almost every one is now in despair. Of what 
use, they say, are the victories of Bourbaki ; he 
can not be here in time. We had pinned our 
faith on-Chanzy, and the news of his defeat, 
coupled with our own, has almost extinguished 
every ray of hope in the breasts even of the most 
hopeful. The Government, it is thought, is pre- 
paring the public mind for a capitulation. La 
Liberie, until now its strongest supporter, bit- 
terly complains that it should publish the truth ! 
Chandordy's dispatch went first to Jules Favre. 
He stood over the man who was deciphering it. 
"When he read the opening sentence, " Un grand 
malheur," he refused to read more, and sent it 
undeciphered to Trochu. When it reached the 
Governor, no one on his staff could decipher it, 
so it had to be returned to the Foreign-office. 
The moment for the quacks is at hand. A 
" General " offers to raise the siege if he be given 
50,000 men. A magician offers a shell which 
will destroy the Prussians root and branch. M. 
Felix Pyat, in his organ, observes that Sparta 
never was taken, and that the Spartans used to 
eat in common. He proposes, therefore, as a 
means to free Paris, that a series of public sup- 
pers should be inaugurated. I can only say 
that I hope that they may be, for I certainly 
shall attend. Even Spartan broth would be ac- 
ceptable. The bread is all but uneatable. If 
4 you put it in water, straw and bits of hay float 
about. A man, who ought to know, solemnly 
assured me this morning that we had only food 
for six days ; but then men who ought to know 
are precisely those who know nothing. I do 
not think that we are so badly off as this; but 
the end is a question no longer of months, but of 
days, and very soon it will be of hours. Those 
who desire a speedy capitulation are called Jes 
capitularcls, and they are in a majority of nine 
to one. There are still many who clamor for 
a grand sortie, but most of those who do so are 
persons who by no possibility can themselves 
share in the sortie. ■ 



The street orators are still at poor Jonah 
Trochu, and their hearers seem to agree with 
them. These sages, however, do not explain 
who is to replace him. Some of the members 
of the Government, I hear, suggest an admiral ; 
but what admiral would accept this danmosa 
hcereditas ? Among the generals, each has his 
partisans, and each seems to be of opinion that 
he himself is a mighty man of war, and all the 
others fools. Both Vinoy and Ducrot declined 
to attend the Council of War which sat before 
the late sortie. They were generals of division, 
they said, and they would obey orders, but they 
would accept no further responsibilities. Du- 
crot, who was the Jidus Achates of Trochu, is 
no longer in his good graces. The Reveil of 
this afternoon, which is usually well-informed on 
all matters which concern our Mayors, gives the 
following account of the meeting of yesterday : 
"At three o'clock the meeting took place in the 
presence of all the members of the Government. 
M. Trochu declared formally that he would fight 
no more. M. Favre said that the Government 
was 'disappearing.' M. Favre proposed that 
the Government should give up its power to the 
Mayors. The Mayors refused. The discus- 
sion was very violent. Several propositions, 
one more absurd than another, were brought 
forward by some of the members of the Govern- 
ment. They were not discussed. As usual, 
the meeting broke up without any result." The 
best man they have is Vinoy ; he is honest, dis- 
interested, and determined. It is to be hoped 
that, if Trochu resigns, he will take his place. 

January 22(7. 
So poor Jonah has gone over, and been swal- 
lowed up by the whale. He still remains the 
head of the civil government, but it only is as a 
figure-head. He is an upright man ; but as a 
military chief he has proved himself a complete 
failure. He was a man of plans, and never could 
alter the details of these plans to suit a change of 
circumstances. What his grand plan was, by 
which Paris was to be saved, no one now, I pre- 
sume, ever will know. The plans of his sorties 
were always elaborately drawn up; each divis- 
ional commander was told in the minutest de- 
tails what he was to do. Unfortunately, General 
Moltke usually interfered with the proper devel- 
opment of these details — a proceeding which al- 
ways surprised poor Trochu — and in the account 
the next day of his operations, he would dwell 
upon the fact as a reason for his want of success. 
That batteries should be opened upon his troops, 
and that reinforcements should be brought up 
against them, were ti-ifles — probable as they 
might seem to most persons — which filled him 
with an indignant astonishment. At th\ last 
sortie Ducrot excuses himself for being late at 
La Malmaison because he found the road by 
which he had been ordered to advance occupied 
by a long line of artillery, also thereby Trochu's 
orders. General Vinoy, who has replaced him, 
is a hale old soldier about seventy years old. 
He has risen from the ranks, and in the Crimea 
was a very intimate friend of Lord Clyde. 



Jan. 22d.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



117 



When the latter came, a few years before his 
death, to Paris, the English Ambassador had 
prepared a grand breakfast for him, and had 
gone to the station to meet him. On the plat- 
form was also Vinoy, who also had prepared 
breakfast for his old comrade in arms ; and this 
breakfast, very much to the disgust of the diplo- 
matist, Lord Clyde accepted. General Vinoy 
has to-day issued a proclamation to the troops, 
which in its plain, simple, modest language con- 
trasts very favorably with the inflated bombast 
in which his predecessor was so great an adept. 
The newspapers are already commencing to 
prove to their own satisfaction that the battle 
of last Thursday was not a defeat, but an "in- 
complete victory." As for the National Guard, 
one would suppose that every one of them had 
been in the action, and that they were only pre- 
vented from carrying every thing before them 
by the timidity of their generals. The wonder- 
ful feats which many of these heroes have told 
me they performed would lead one to suppose 
that Napoleon's old Guard was but a flock of 
she.ep in comparison with them. I can not help 
thinking that by a certain indistinctness of rec- 
ollection they attribute to themselves every ex- 
ploit, not only that they saw, but that their fer- 
tile imaginations have ever dreamt to be possi- 
ble. In all this nonsense they are supported by 
the newspapers, who think more of their circu- 
lation than of truth. To read the accounts of 
this battle one would suppose that neither the 
Line nor the Mobiles had been in it. A cari- 
cature now very popular represents a lion in the 
uniform of a National Guard, held back by two 
donkeys in the uniforms of generals, and vainly 
endeavoring to rush upon a crowd of terrified 
Germans. As a matter of fact — about 5000 
National Guards were in the thick of it — the 
men behaved tolerably well, and many of the 
officers very well. The great majority of the 
marching battalions which were in the peninsu- 
la "did not give," to use the French phrase; 
and some of them, notwithstanding the efforts 
of their officers, were unable to remain steady 
as soon as the Prussian bombs reached them. 
This sic vos non vobis which is meted out to the 
Mobiles and the Line makes me indignant. As 
for the sailors, they are splendid fellows — and 
how we always manage to beat them afloat in- 
creases my admiration of the British tars. They 
are kept under the strictest discipline by their 
captains and admirals, one of whom once said 
to me, when I asked him whether his men fra- 
ternized with the soldiers, " If I saw one of them 
associating with such canaille, I would put him 
under arrest for twenty -four hours." In the 
forts they are perfectly cool under the heaviest 
fire, and both at Le Bourget and at Chantillon 
they fought like heroes. "Ten thousand of 
them," observed a general to me the other 
day, " are worth more than the whole National 
Guards." 

The bombardment still continues. Bombs 
fall into the southern part of the town ; but 
habit in this world is every thing, and no one 



troubles himself much about them. At night 
the Trocadero has become a fashionable lounge 
for the cocottes, who still honor us with their 
presence. The line of the Prussian batteries 
and the flash of their guns can be seen. The 
hissing, too, of the bombs can be heard, when 
the cocottes crouch by their swains in affected 
dread. It is like Cremorne, with its ladies and 
its fire-works. Since yesterday morning, too, St. 
Denis has been bombarded. Most of its inhab- 
itants have taken refuge in Paris, but it will be 
a pity if the cathedral, with the tombs of all the 
old French Kings, is damaged. St. Denis is itself 
a species of fort. Its guns are not, a friend tells 
me who has just come from there, replying with 
vigor. The Prussians are firing on it from six 
separate batteries, and it is feared that it will 
fall. Our attention to-day has been diverted 
from the Prussians outside by a little domestic- 
quarrel at home, and we have been shooting 
each other, as though the Prussian missiles were 
not enough for our warlike stomachs, and death 
were not raging around our prison. 

Between twelve and one this morning a band 
of armed patriots appeared before the prison of 
Mazas, and demanded the release of Flourens 
and the political prisoners who were shut up 
there. The director, instead of keeping the 
gate shut, allowed a deputation to enter. As 
soon as the gate was opened, not only the dep- 
utation, but the patriots rushed in, and bore off 
Flourens and his friends in triumph. With the 
Mayor at their head, they then went to the Mai- 
ne of the 20th Arrondissement, and pillaged it 
of all the rations and bread and wine which they 
found stored up there. Then they separated, 
having passed a resolution to go at twelve o'clock 
to the Hotel deVille, to assist their "brothers" 
in turning out the Government. I got myself 
to the Place of the Hotel de Ville at about two 
o'clock. There were then about 5000 persons 
there. The gates were shut. Inside the rails 
before them were a few officers; and soldiers 
could be seen at all the windows. Some few 
of the 5000 were armed, but most of them were 
unarmed. Close in by the Hotel de Ville there 
seemed to be some sort of military order in the 
positions occupied by the rioters. I took up my 
stand at the corner of the Rue de Rivoli. Ev- 
ery moment the crowd increased. It was com- 
posed partly of sight-seers, for on Sunday every 
one is out of doors; partly of sympathizers. 

These sympathizers were not, as on October 
31, working-men, but mainly what Count Bis- 
marck would call the populace. Their political 
creed may be summed up by the word " loot ;" 
their personal appearance by the word " hang- 
dog." I found myself in the midst of a group 
of hangdogs, who were abusing every one and 
every thing. On one side of me was a lady of 
expansive figure, whose breath showed that she 
had partaken lately of ardent spirits, and whose 
conversation showed that if she was a " matron 
of Cornelia's mien," her morals were better than 
her conversation. "The people are slaves," 
she perpetually yelled, " they will no longer 



118 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Jan. 23d. 



submit to traitors ; I say it to you, I, the moth- 
er of four children." This maternal vantage- 
ground which she assumed evidently gave her 
opinions weight, for her neighbors replied, 
" Oui, elle a raison, la mere." A lean, bilious- 
looking fellow, who looked as though through 
life he had not done an honest day's work, and 
whose personal charms were not heightened by 
a grizzled beard and a cap of cat-skin, close by 
the matron, was bawling out, " The Hotel de 
Ville belongs to us, I am a tax -payer ;" while 
a youth about fifteen years old, hard by, ex- 
plained in a shrill treble the military errors 
which Trochu and the generals had committed. 
At a little after three o'clock, a fresh band, all 
armed, with a drum beating the charge, ap- 
peared, and as they neared the chief entrance 
of the Hotel de Ville, just one shot, and then a 
number of shots were fired. Every body who 
had a gun then shot it off with an eager but 
general idea of doing something, as he fled, like 
a Parthian bowman. The stampede soon be- 
came general ; numbers of persons threw them- 
selves on the ground. I saw the mother of 
four children sprawling in the mire, and the 
bilious tax-payer fall over her, and then I fol- 
lowed the youthful strategist into an open door. 
Inside were about twenty people. The door 
was shut to, and for about twenty minutes we 
heard muskets going off. Then, as the fight 
seemed over, the door was opened, and we 
emerged. The Place had been evacuated by 
the mob, and was held by the troops. Fresh 
regiments were marching on it along the quay 
and the Rue de Rivoli. "Wounded people were 
lying about or crawling towards the houses. 
Soon some brancardiers arrived and picked up 
the wounded. One boy I saw evidently dying 
— the blood was streaming out of two wounds. 
The windows of the Hotel de Ville were broken, 
and the facade bore traces of balls, as did some 
of the houses round the Place. I remained 
until dusk. Even when I left, the streets were 
full of citizens. Each man who had rolled in 
the mire, and whose clothes showed traces of it, 
was the centre of a group of sympathizers and 
non-sympathizers, to whom he was explaining 
how the Breton brigands had fired on him, a 
poor innocent lamb, who had done no harm. 
The non-sympathizers, however, were in the 
majority, and "served him right" seemed to 
be the general verdict on those who had been 
shot, or who had spoilt their clothes. Every 
now and then some window would slam or a 
cart would rumble by, when there would be a 
general scamper for a few yards. After dinner 
I again returned to the Hotel de Ville. The 
crowd had dispersed, and the Place was mili- 
tarily occupied ; so we may suppose that this 
little domestic episode is over. 

January 23d, morning. 
The clubs are closed, and the Reveil and the 
Combat suppressed. Numbers of people are 
coming in from St. Denis, where the bombard- 
ment is getting very hot. Bombs last night fell 
in one of the islands on the Seine ; so the flood 



is mounting, and our dry ground is every day 
diminishing. I see in an extract from a Ger- 
man paper, that it has been telegraphed to 
England that the village of Issy has been en- 
tirely destroyed by the Prussian fire. This is 
not the case. I was there the other day, and 
the village is still there. It is not precisely the 
spot where one would wish one's property to be 
situated, but most of the houses are as yet in- 
tact. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Jamiary 27th. 

I white this, as I hear that the last balloon 
is to start to-night. How lucky for the English 
public that just when the siege of Paris ceases 
the conscript fathers of the nation will still fur- 
nish them with reading in their newspapers. 
The light, airy wit of Professor Eawcett, and 
the pleasant fancy of Mr. Newdegate, will be 
served up for them with their hot rolls every 
morning instead of the bulletins of Count 
Moltke — lucky public ! 

Most of us here are much like heirs at a rich 
man's funeral. We have long faces, we sigh 
and we groan, but we are not quite so unhappy 
as we look. The Journal Official of this morn- 
ing announces that Paris will not be occupied, 
and that the National Guard will not go to Ger- 
many. This is, we say, very different from a 
capitulation — it is a political incident ; in a 
few days I expect to hear it called a victory. 
The editor of the Liberte — why is this gentle- 
man still alive ? for the last three months he 
has been making pacts with death — explains 
that Paris never would have and never will 
capitulate, but that an armistice is a very dif- 
ferent sort of thing. Last night, notwithstand- 
ing the cold which has again set in, the Boule- 
vard was blocked up with groups of patriots and 
wiseacres discussing the state of things, and ex- 
plaining what Paris would agree to and what 
she would not agree to. Occasionally some 
"pure" — a "pure" is an Ultra — threw out 
that the Parisians themselves were only reap- 
ing what they had sown ; but the pure, I need 
hardly say, was soon silenced, and it seemed to 
be generally agreed that Paris has been sublime 
and heroic, but that if she has been neither, it 
has been the fault of the traitors to whom she 
has confided her destinies. Some said that the 
admirals had stated that they would blow up 
their forts rather than surrender them ; but if 
the worthies who vouched for this had been in- 
formed by the admirals of their intentions, I 
can only say that these honest tars had chosen 
strange confidants. 

Paris, as I have already said more than once, 
has been fighting as much for her own suprem- 
acy over the provinces as for victory over the 
Prussians. The news — whether true or false I 
know not — that Gambetta, who is regarded as 
the representative of Paris, has been replaced 
by a sort of Council of Regency, and that this 
Council of Regency is treating, has filled every 



J.vx, 28th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



119 



one hero with indignation. Far better, every 
one sterns to think, that Alsace should be lost 
to Fiance, than that France should be lost to 
Paris. The victories of Prussia have been bit- 
ter to Frenchmen, because they had each of 
them individually assumed a vicarious glory in 
the victories of the First Empire ; but the real 
patriotism of the Parisians does not extend far- 
ther than the walls of their own town. If the 
result of this war is to cause France to under- 
take the conduct of its own affairs, and not to 
allow the population of Paris and the journalists 
of Paris to ride rough-shod over her, the country 
will have gained more than she has lost by her 
defeats, no matter what may be the indemnity 
she be called upon to pay. The martial spirit 
of the National Guard has of course been laud- 
ed to the skies by those newspapers which de- 
pend for their circulation on these braves. The 
question what they have done may, however, be 
reduced to figures. They number above 300,000. 
According to their own statements, they have 
been fighting for nearly five months, and I ven- 
ture to say that during the whole campaign 
they have not lost 500 men. They have occa- 
sionall}' done duty in the trenches, but this duty 
has been a very brief one, and they have had 
very long intervals of repose. I do not question 
that in the National Guard there are many brave 
men, but one can only judge of the fighting 
qualities of an army by comparison ; and if the 
losses of the National Guard be statistically 
compared with those of the Line, of the Mobiles, 
and of the sailors, it will be shown that — to use 
an Americanism — their record is a bad one. 
The soldiers and the sailors have fought, and 
the women have suffered during the siege. The 
male population of Paris has done little more 
than bluster and drink and brag. 

To-day there is no firing, and I suppose that 
the last shell has fallen into Paris. I went out 
yesterday to St. Denis. Along the road there 
were a few people coming into Paris with their 
beds and tables in hand-carts. In the town the 
bombai-dment, although not so heavy as it had 
been, was far too heavy to be pleasant. Most 
of the people still remaining have established 
themselves in their cellars, and every moment 
one came against some chimney emerging from 
the soil. Some were still on the ground-floor 
of their houses, and had heaped up mattresses 
against their windows. The inhabitants occa- 
sionally ran from one house to another, like rab- 
bits in a wa ren from hole to hole. All the 
doors were opv.n, and whenever one heard the 
premonitory whistle which announced the arriv- 
al of one of the messengers of our psychological 
friends outside, one had to dodge into some door. 
I did not see any one hit. The houses were a 
good deal knocked about ; the cathedral, it was 
said, had been hit, but as shells were falling in 
the Place before it, I reserved investigations for 
a more quiet moment. Some of the garrison 
told me that the forts had been "scratched," 
but as to how far this scratching process had 
been carried I can not say from personal obser- 



vation, as I thought I might be scratched myself 
if I pushed my reconnaissance farther. I am 
not a military man, and do not profess to know 
any thing about bombs technically ; but it seems 
to me, considering that it is their object to burst, 
and considering the number of scientific persons 
who have devoted their time to make them burst, 
it is very strange how very few do burst. I am 
told that one reason for this is the following : — 
when they lose the velocity of the impelling 
force they turn over in the air, and as the per- 
cussion-cap is on the lighter end, the heavier 
one strikes the ground. Many of these, too, 
which have fallen in the town, and which have 
burst, have done no mischief, because the lead 
in which they are enveloped has kept the pieces 
together. The danger, indeed, to life and limb 
of a bombardment is very slight. I would at 
any time prefer to be for twenty-four hours in 
the most exposed portion of a bombarded town, 
than walk twenty -four times across Oxford 
Street in the middle of the day. A bomb is a 
joke in comparison with those great heavy wag- 
ons which are hurled at pedestrians by their 
drivers in the streets of London. 

January 2%th. 
The Government has not yet made up its 
mind to bell the cat, and to let us know the 
terms of the armistice or capitulation, which- 
ever it is to be called. We hear that it is ex- 
pected that trains will run to England on Tues- 
day or Wednesday, and by the first train I for 
one shall endeavor to get out of this prison. It 
will be such a relief to find one's self once more 
among people who have glimpses of common 
sense, who are not all in uniform, and who did 
not insist so very strongly on their sublime atti- 
tude. Yesterday evening there were a series of 
open-air clubs held on the Boulevards and other 
public places. The orators were in most in- 
stances women or aged men. These Joans of 
Arc and ancient Pistols talked very loudly of 
making a revolution in order to prevent the 
capitulation ; and it seemed to me that among 
their hearers, precisely those who while they 
had an opportunity to fight thought it wise not 
to do so, were most vociferous in their applause. 
The language of the National Guard is indeed 
most warlike. Several hundred of their offi- 
cers have indulged in the cheap patriotism of 
signing a declaration that they wish to die 
rather than yield. This morning many bat- 
talions of the National Guard are under arms, 
and are hanging about in the streets with their 
anns stacked before them. Many of the men, 
however, have not answered to the rappel, and 
are remaining at home, as a mode of protesting 
against what is passing. General Vinoy has a 
body of troops ready to act, and as he is a man 
of energy I do not anticipate serious disturb- 
ances for the moment. As for the soldiers and 
the Mobiles, they are wandering about in twos 
and threes without arms, and do not affect to 
conceal that they are heartily glad that all is 
over. Poor fellows, their torn and tattered 
uniforms contrast with the spick-and-span mili- 



120 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Jan. 31st. 



tary gear of the National Guard. They have 
had during the siege hard work, and they have 
done good duty, with but little thanks for it. 
The newspapers are one and all down on the 
Government. It is of course held to be their 
fault that the lines of the besiegers have not 
been forced. General Trochu is not a milita- 
ry genius, and his colleagues have not proved 
themselves better administrators than half a 
dozen lawyers who have got themselves elected 
to a legislative assembly by the gift of the gab 
were likely to be ; but still this system of sacri- 
ficing the leaders whenever any disaster takes 
place, and accusing them of treachery and in- 
competence, is one of the worst features in the 
French character. If it continues, eventually 
every man of rank will be dubbed by his own 
countrymen either a knave or a fool. 

January 31st. 

Finita la Comedia. Let fall the curtain. 
The siege of Paris is over ; the last balloon has 
carried our letters through the clouds ; the last 
shot has been fired. The Prussians are in the 
forts, and the Prussian armies are only not in 
the streets because they prefer to keep watch 
and guard outside the vanquished city. What 
will be the verdict of history on the defense? 
Who knows ! On the one hand, the Parisians 
have kept a powerful army at bay far longer 
than was anticipated ; on the other hand, every 
sortie that they have made has been unsuccess- 
ful — every attempt to arrest the approach of the 
besiegers has failed. Passively and inertly, 
they have allowed their store of provisions to 
grow less and less, until they have been forced 
to capitulate, without their defenses having been 
stormed or the cannon silenced. The General 
complains of his soldiers, the soldiers complain 
of their General ; and on both sides there is 
cause of complaint. Trochu is not a Todleben. 
His best friends describe him as a sort of mili- 
tary Hamlet, wise of speech, but weak and hesi- 
tating in action — making plans, and then criti- 
cising them instead of accomplishing them. As 
a commander, his task was a difficult one ; when 
the siege commenced, he had no army ; when 
the army was formed, it was encompassed by 
earth-works and redoubts so strong that even 
better soldiers would have failed to carry them. 
As a statesman, he never was the master of the 
situation. He followed rather than led public 
opinion, and subordinated every thing to the 
dread of displeasing any section of a popula- 
tion which, to be ruled — even in quiet times — 
must be ruled with a rod of iron. Success is 
the criterion of ability in this country, and poor 
Trochu is as politically dead as though he never 
had lived. His enemies call him a traitor ; his 
friends defend him from the charge by saying 
that he is only a vain fool. 

As regards the armed force, the sailors have 
behaved so well that I wonder at the ease with 
which our own tars have always beaten them. 
They have been kept under a rigid discipline 
by their naval commanders. The line, com- 
posed of depot battalions, and of the regiments 



which Vinoy brought back from Me'zieres, with- 
out being equal to old seasoned troops, have 
fought creditably. Their great defect has been 
an absence of strict discipline. The Mobiles, 
raw peasants fresh from their homes, have shown 
themselves brave in action, and have supported 
the hardship of lengthy outpost duty without a 
murmur. Unfortunately they elected their own 
officers, and this weakened their efficiency for of- 
fensive purposes. When the siege commenced, 
every citizen indiscriminately assumed the uni- 
form of the National Guard. Each battalion 
of this motley force elected its officers, and both 
men and officers united in despising discipline 
as a restraint to natural valor. The National 
Guard mounted guard occasionally on the ram- 
parts, and the rest of their time they passed in 
parading the streets, drinking in the pot-houses, 
and discussing the conduct of their military su- 
periors. General Trochu soon discovered that 
this force was, for all purposes of war, absolute- 
ly useless. He called for volunteers, and he 
anticipated that 100,000 men would answer to 
the appeal ; not 10,000 did so. He then order- 
ed a marching company to be formed from each 
battalion. Complaints innumerable arose. In- 
stead of a generous emulation to fight, each 
man sought for an excuse to avoid it. This 
man had a mother, that man a daughter ; one 
had weak lungs, and another weak legs. At 
length, by dint of pressure and coaxing, the 
marching battalions were formed. Farewell 
suppers were offered them by their comrades. 
They were given new coats, new trowsers, and 
new saucepans to strap on their haversacks. 
They have done some duty in the trenches, but 
they were always kept away from serious fight- 
ing, and only gave a " moral support" to those 
engaged in the conflict, until the fiasco in the 
Isthmus of Gennevilliers a fortnight ago. Then, 
near the walls of Buzanval, the few companies 
which were in action fought fairly if not suc- 
cessfully, while in another part of the field of 
battle those who formed the reserves broke and 
fled as soon as the Prussian bombs fell into their 
ranks. The entire National Guard, sedentary 
and marching battalions, has not, I imagine, 
lost 500 men during its four months' campaign. 
This can hardly be called fighting to the death 
pro arts etfocis, and sublimity is hardly the word 
to apply to these warriors. If the 300 at Ther- 
mopyla? had, after exhausting their food, sur- 
rendered to the Persian armies, after the loss 
of less than one per cent, of their number — say 
of three men, they might have been very worthy 
fellows, but history would not have embalmed 
their act. 

Politically, with the exception of the riot on 
October 31, the Government of National De- 
fense has met with no opposition since Septem- 
ber last. There are several reasons for this. 
Among the bourgeoisie there was little of either 
love or confidence felt in Trochu and his col- 
leagues, but they represented the cause of order, 
and were indeed the only barrier against abso- 
lute anarchy. Among the poorer classes every 



Jan. 31st.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



121 



one who liked was clothed, was fed, and was 
paid by Government fordoing nothing, and con- 
sequently many who otherwise would have been 
ready to join in a revolt thought it well not to 
disturb a state of things so eminently to their 
satisfaction. Among the Ultras, there was a 
very strong distaste to face the fire either of 
Prussians or of Frenchmen. They had, too, 
no leaders worthy of the name, and many of 
them were determined not to justify Count Bis- 
marck's taunt that the "populace" would aid 
him by exciting civil discord. The Govern- 
ment of September, consequently, is still the 
Government of to-day, although its chief has 
shown himself a poor general, and its members, 
one and all, have shown themselves wretched 
administrators. In unblushing mendacity they 
have equalled, if not surpassed, their immediate 
predecessor, the virtuous Palikao. The only 
two of them who would have had a chance of 
figuring in England, even as vestrymen, are M. 
Jules Favre and M. Ernest Picard. The for- 
mer has all the brilliancy and all the faults of 
an able lawyer — the latter, although a lawyer, 
is not without a certain modicum of that plain 
practical common sense which we are apt to re- 
gard as peculiarly an English characteristic. 

The sufferings caused by the dearth of provis- 
ions and of fuel have fallen almost exclusively 
on the women and children. Among the well- 
to-do classes, there has been an absence of many 
of those luxuries which habit had made almost 
necessaries, but this is all. The men of the 
poorer classes, as a rule, preferred to idle away 
their time on the 1 fr. 50 c. which they received 
from the Government, rather than gain 4 or 5 fr. 
a day by working at their trades ; consequently, 
if they drank more and ate less than was good 
for them, they have had only themselves to 
thank for it. Their wives and children have 
been very miserable. Scantily clad, ill fed, 
without fuel, they have been obliged to pass 
half the day before the bakers' doors, waiting 
for their pittance of bread. The mortality and 
the suffering have been very great among them, 
and yet, it must be said to their credit, they have 
neither repined nor complained. 

Business has, of course, been at a stand-still 
since last September. At the Bourse the trans- 
actions have been of the most trifling descrip- 
tion, much to the disgust of the many thousands 
who live here by peddling gains and doubtful 
speculations in this temple of filthy lucre. By 
a series of decrees payment of rent and of bills 
of exchange has been deferred from month to 
month. Most of the wholesale exporting houses 
have been absolutely closed. In the retail shops 
nothing has been sold except by the grocers, who 
must have made large profits. Whether the 
city has a recuperative power strong enough to 
enable it to recover from this period of stagna- 
tion, and to pay its taxation, which hencefor- 
ward will be enormous, has yet to be seen. The 
world is the market, for articles de Paris, but then 
to preserve this market the prices of these arti- 
cles must be low. Foreigners, too, will not come 



here if the cost of living is too exorbitant, and 
yet I do not see how it is to be otherwise. The 
talk of the people now is, that they mean to be- 
come serious — no longer to pander to the ex- 
travagances of strangers, and no longer to en- 
courage their presence among them. If they 
carry out these intentions, I am afraid that, 
however their morals may be improved, their 
material interests will suffer. Gambling-tables 
may not be an advantage to Europe, but with- 
out them Homburg and Baden would go to the 
wall. Paris is a city of pleasure — a cosmopoli- 
tan city ; it has made its profit out of the follies 
and the vices of the world. Its prices are too 
high, its houses are too large, its promenades 
and its public places have cost too much for it 
to be able to pay its way as the sober, decent 
capital of a moderate-sized country, where there 
are few great fortunes. If the Parisians decide 
to become poor and respectable, they are to be 
congratulated upon the resolve, but the present 
notion seems to be that they are to become rich 
and respectable — a thing more difficult. Paris 
— the Paris of the Empire and of Haussmann — 
is a house of cards. Its prosperity was a forced 
and artificial one. The war and the siege have 
knocked down the cards, and it is doubtful 
whether they will ever serve to build a new 
house. 

As regards public opinion, I can not see that 
it has changed one iota for the better since the 
fall of the Empire, or that common sense has 
made any headway. There are of course sen- 
sible men in Paris, but either they hold their 
tongues, or their voices are lost in the chorus 
of blatant nonsense which is dinned into the 
public ears. Mutatis mutandis the newspapers, 
with some few exceptions, are much what they 
were when they worshipped Ca?sar, chronicled 
the doings of the demi-monde, clamored for the 
Rhine, and invented Imperial victories. Their 
ignorance respecting every thing beyond the 
frontiers of France is such, that a charity school- 
boy in England or Germany would be deserved- 
ly whipped for it. La Liberte has, I am told, 
the largest circulation at present. Every day 
since the commencement of the siege I have in- 
vested two sous in this journal, and I may say, 
without exaggeration, that never once — except 
one evening when it was burnt on the boulevard 
for inadvertently telling the truth — have I been 
able to discover in its columns one single line 
of common sense. Its facts are sensational — 
its articles engross appeals to popular folly, popu- 
lar ignoranee, and popular vanity. Every pet- 
ty skirmish of the National Guard has been 
magnified into a stupendous victory ; every 
battalion which visited a tomb, crowned a statue, 
or signed some manifesto pre-eminent in its 
absurdity, has been lauded in language which 
would have been exaggerated if applied to the 
veterans of the first Napoleon. The editor is, 
I believe, the author of the "pact with death," 
which has been so deservedly ridiculed in the 
German newspapers. The orators of the clubs 
have not been wiser than the journalists. At 



122 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Jan. 31st. 



the Ultra gatherings, a man who says that he 
is a republican is regarded as the possessor of 
every virtue. The remedy for all the ills of 
France has been held to be, to copy exactly 
what was done during the First Revolution. 
"Citizens, we must have a Commune, and then 
we shall drive the Prussians out of France," 
was always received with a round of sympa- 
thetic applause, although I have never yet found 
two persons to agree in their explanation of what 
is meant by the word " Commune." At the 
Moderate clubs, the speeches generally consist- 
ed of ignorant abuse of Germany, attempts to 
disprove well-established facts, and extravagant 
self-laudation. I have attended many clubs — 
Ultra and Moderate — and I never heard a speak- 
er at one of them who would have been toler- 
ated for five minutes by an ordinary English 
political meeting. 

The best minister whom the Parisians have 
is M. Dorian. He is a manufacturer, and as 
hard-headed and practical as a Scotsman. 
Thanks to his energy and business qualities, can- 
non have been cast, old muskets converted into 
breech-loaders, and ammunition fabricated. He 
has had endless difficulties to overcome, and has 
overcome them. The French are entirely with- 
out what New Englanders call shiftiness. As 
long as all the wheels of an administration work 
well, the administrative coach moves on, but let 
the smallest wheel of the machine get out of or- 
der, and every thing stands still. To move on 
again takes a month's discussion and a hundred 
dispatches. A redoubt which the Americans 
during their civil war would have thrown up in 
a night has taken the Parisians weeks to make. 
Their advanced batteries usually were without 
traverses, because they were too idle to form 
them. Although in modern sieges the spade 
ought to play as important a part as the cannon, 
they seem to have considered it beneath their 
dignity to dig — 500 navvies would have done 
more for the defense of the town than 500,000 
National Guards did do. At the commence- 
ment of October, ridiculous barricades were 
made far inside the ramparts, and although the 
generals have complained ever since that they 
impeded the movements of their troops, they 
have never been removed. 

I like the Parisians, and I like the French. 
They have much of the old Latin urbanitas, 
many kindly qualities, and most of the minor 
virtues which do duty as the small change of 
social intercourse. But for the sake of France, 
I am glad that Paris has lost its prestige, for 
its rule has been a blight and a curse to the en- 
tire country ; and for the sake of Europe, I am 
glad that France has lost her military prestige, 
for this prestige has been the cause of most of 
the wars of Europe during the last one hundred 
and fifty years. It is impossible so to adapt the 
equilibrium of power that every great European 
Power shall be co-equal in strength. The bal- 
ance tips now to the side of Germany. That 
country has attained the unity after which she 
has so long sighed, and I do not think she will 



embroil the Continent in wars waged for con- 
quest, for an "idea," or for the dynastic inter- 
ests of her princes. The Germans are a brave 
race, but not a war-loving race. Much, there- 
fore, as I regret that French provinces should 
against the will of their inhabitants become 
German, and strongly as I sympathize with my 
poor friends here in the overthrow of all their 
illusions, I console myself with the thought that 
the result of the present war will be to consolidate 
peace. France will no doubt look wistfully af- 
ter her lost possessions, and talk loudly of her 
intention to reconquer them. But the difficul- 
ty of the task will prevent the attempt. Until 
now, to the majority of Frenchmen, a war meant 
a successful military promenade, a plentiful dis- 
tribution of decorations, and an inscription on 
some triumphal arch. Germany was to them 
the Germany of Jena and Austerlitz. Their 
surprise at seeing the Prussians victors at the 
doors of Paris, is much that which the Ameri- 
cans would feel if a war with the Sioux Indians 
were to bring these savages to the suburbs of 
New York. The French have now learnt that 
they are not invincible, and that if war may 
mean victory, it may also mean defeat, inva- 
sion, and ruin. When, therefore, they have 
paid the bill for their a Berlin folly, they will 
think twice before they open a fresh account 
with fortune. 

I would recommend sight-seers to defer their 
visit to Paris for the present, as during the ar- 
mistice it will not be a very pleasant residence 
for foreigners. I doubt whether the elections 
will go off, and the decisions of the National 
Assembly be known, without disturbances. The 
vainest of the vain, irritable to madness by 
their disasters, the Parisians are in no humor to 
welcome strangers. The world has held aloof 
whilst the "capital of civilization" has been 
bombarded by the "hordes of Attila;" and 
there is consequently, just now, no very friend- 
ly feeling towards the world. 

Of news there is very little. We are in 
a state of physical and moral collapse. The 
groups of patriots which invested the Boule- 
vards on the first announcement of the capitu- 
lation have disappeared ; and the gatherings of 
National Guards who announced their intention 
to die rather than submit have discontinued their 
sittings, owing it, as they said, to their country 
to live for her. No one hardly now affects to 
conceal his joy that all is over. Every citizen 
with whom one speaks tells you that it will be 
the lasting shame of Paris that, with its numer- 
ous army, it not only failed to force the Prus- 
sians to raise the siege, but also allowed them 
whenever they pleased to detach corps d'armee 
against the French generals in the provinces. 
This, of course, is the fault of the Government 
of Trochu and of the Republic, and having thus 
washed his hands of every thing that has occur- 
red, the citizen goes on his way rejoicing. The 
Mobiles make no secret of their delight at the 
thought of getting back to their homes. What- 
ever the Parisians may think of them, they do 



Jan. 31st.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IX PARIS. 



123 



not think much of the Parisians. The army, 
and more particularly the officers, are very in- 
dignant at the terms of the armistice. They 
bitterly say that they would far rather have pre- 
ferred to have heen made prisoners of war at 
once, and they feel their anomalous position in 
Paris — a pledge that peace will be made. M. 
Jules Ferry was treated so coldly the other day 
by General Yinoy's staff, when he went upon 
some business to the head-quarters of the Com- 
mander-in-chief, that he asked the cause, and 
was told in plain terms that he and his col- 
leagues had trifled with the honor of the army. 
The armistice was, as you are aware, concluded 
by M. Jules Favre in person. It was then 
thought necessary to send a General to confer 
with Count Moltke on matters of detail. Gen- 
eral Trochu seized upon this occasion to assert 
himself, and requested to be allowed to send a 
General of his choice, saying that his book which 
he published in 1867 must be so well known at 
the German head - quarters, that probably his 
envoy would meet with peculiar respect. To 
this General Vinoy acceded, but Count Moltke 
refused to treat with Trochu's General, and the 
chief of General Yinoy's staff had to be substi- 
tuted in his stead. General Ducrot is still here. 
He resigned his command, not, as is generally 
supposed, because the Prussians insisted upon 
it in consequence of his evasion from Se'dan, 
but because General Yinoy, on assuming the 
command of the army, gave him a very strong 
hint to do so. "I did not," observed Vinoy, 
" think your position sufficiently en regie to 
serve under you, and so — " 

The question of the revictualling is the most 
important one of the moment. The railroad 
kings, who had an interview with Count Bis- 
marck at Versailles, seem to be under the 
impression that this exceedingly wide-awake 
statesman intends to throw impediments in the 
way of Paris getting provisions from England, 
in order that the Germans may turn an honest 
penny by supplying the requirements of the 
town. He has thrown out hints that he him- 
self can revictual us for a short time, if it real- 
ly be a question of life and death. Even when 
the lines are opened to traffic and passengers, 
the journey to England, via. Amiens, Rouen, 
and Dieppe, will be a tedious one. The Seine, 
we learn, has been rendered impassable by the 
boats which have been sunk in it. 

We have as yet had no news from outside. 
The English here find the want of a consul 
more than ever. The Foreign -office has sent 
in an acting commission to Mr. Blount, a gen- 
tleman who may be an excellent banker, but 
knows nothing of consular business, notwith- 
standing his courtesy. As, whenever any ne- 
gotiation is to take place at a foreign court, a 
Special Envoy is sent, and, as it now appears, 
whenever a Consul is particularly wanted in a 
town, a Special Consul is appointed, would it 
not be as well at once to suppress the large 
staff of permanent ambassadors, ministers, and 
consuls who eat their heads off at a heavy cost 



to the country. I should be curious to know 
how many years it would take to reduce the in- 
telligence of an ordinary banker's clerk to the 
level of a Foreign-office bureaucrat. How the 
long-suffering English public can continue to 
| support the incompetency and the supercilious 
I contempt with which these gentry treat their 
j employers is to me a mystery. Bureaucrats 
j are bad enough, in all conscience, but a nest 
J of fine gentlemen bureaucrats is a public curse, 
| when thousands are subjected to their whims, 
their ignorance, and their airs. 

The Republic is in very bad odor just now. 
i It has failed to save France, and it is rendered 
| responsible for this failure. Were the Comte 
de Paris a man of any mark, he would proba- 
bly be made king. As it is, there is a strong 
feeling in favor of his family, and more partic- 
ularly in favor of the Due d'Aumale. Some 
| talk of him as President of the Republic, others 
suggest that he should be elected king. The 
Bonapartists are very busy, but as regards Paris 
there is no chance either for the Emperor or the 
Empress Regent. As for Henri V., he is, in 
sporting phraseology, out of the betting. Among 
politicians, the general opinion is that a moder- 
ate Republic will be tried for a short time, and 
that then we shall gravitate into a Constitution- 
al Monarchy. 

Little heed is taken of the elections which 
are so close at hand. No one seems to care 
who is elected. As it is not known whether 
the National Assembly will simply register the 
terms of peace proposed by Germany, and then 
dissolve itself, or whether it will constitute it- 
self into an Assemblee Constituante, and decide 
upon the future form of government, there is 
no very great desire among politicians to be 
elected to it. Several Electoral Committees 
have been formed, each of which puts forward 
its own list — that which sits under the Presi- 
dency of M. Dufaure, an Orleanist, at the Grand 
Hotel, is the most important of them. Its list 
is intended to include the most practical men 
of all parties ; the rallying cry is to be France, 
and in theory its chiefs are supposed to be mod- 
erate Republicans. 

The ceremony of the giving up of the forts 
has passed over very quietly. The Prussians 
entered them without noise or parade. At St. 
Denis, the Mayor of which said that no Prus- 
sian would be safe in it, friends and foes, I am 
told by a person who has just returned, have 
fraternized, and are pledging each other in ev- 
ery species of liquor. The ramparts are being 
dismantled of their guns ; the National Guard 
no longer' does duty on them, and crowds as- 
semble and stare vaguely into the country out- 
side. During the whole siege Paris has not 
been so dismal and so dreary as it is now. 
There is no longer the excitement of the con- 
test, and yet we are prisoners. The only con- 
solation is that a few weeks will put an end to 
this state of things. 



124 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Feb. 1st. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



February 1st 

The Government of National Defense has al- 
most disappeared from notice. It has become a 
Committee to preside over public order. The 
world may calumniate us, they said in a procla- 
mation the other day. It would be impossible, 
replied the newspapers. Trochu and Gambet- 
ta,once the idols of the Parisians, are now the 
best-abused men in France. Trochu (a friend 
of his told me to-day), deserted by all, makes 
speeches in the bosom of his family. No more 
speeches, no more lawyers, is the cry of the 
journals. And then they 6pin out phrases of 
exaggerated Spartanism by the yard, and sug 
gest some lawyer as the rising hope of the coun- 
try. 

The cannon have been taken from the ram- 
parts. The soldiers — Line and Mobile — wander 
about unarmed, with their hands in their pock- 
ets, staring at the shop-windows. They are 
very undemonstrative, and more like peaceful 
villagers than rough troopers. They pass most 
of their time losing their way and trying to find 
it again ; the Mobiles all long to get back to 
their homes. It appears now that there was an 
error in the statistics published by the Govern- 
ment respecting the stock of grain in hand. Two 
accounts, which were one and the same, were 
added together. The bread is getting less like 
bread every day. Besides peas, rice, and hay, 
starch is now ground up with it. In the eighth 
arrondissement yesterday, there were no rations. 
The Northern Company do not expect a pro- 
vision-train from Dieppe before Friday, and do 
not think they will be able to carry passengers 
before Saturday. We are in want of fuel as 
much as of food. A very good thing is to be 
made by any speculator who can manage to send 
us coal or charcoal. 

More than 23,000 persons have applied for 
permits to quit Paris, on the ground that they 
are provincial candidates for the Assembly. Of 
course this is a mere pretext. A commission, 
as acting British Consul, has been sent to Mr. 
Blount, a banker. Will some M.P. move that 
the Estimates be reduced by the invisible Con- 
sul, who seems to consider Paris in partibus in- 
Jidelium ? 

The only outsider who has penetrated through 
the double cordon of Prussians and French is 
your Correspondent at the head-quarters of the 
Crown Prince of Saxony. He startled us quite 
as much as Friday did Robinson Crusoe. He 
was enthusiastically welcomed, for he had Eng- 
lish newspapers in one pocket, and some slices 
of ham in the other. 

Versailles, February 6th. 

I am not intoxicated, but I feel so heavy from 
having imbibed during the last twenty-four 
hours more milk than I did during the first six 
months which I passed in this planet, that I 
have some difficulty in collecting my thoughts 
in order to write a letter. Yesterday I arrived 
here, in order to breathe for a moment the air of 
freedom. In vain my hospitable friends, who 



have put me up, have offered me wine to drink, 
and this and that delicacy to eat — I have stuck 
to eggs, butter, and milk. Pats of butter I have 
bolted with a greasy greediness which would 
have done honor to Pickwick's fat boy ; and 
quarts of milk I have drunk with the eager- 
ness of a calf long separated from its maternal 
parent. 

Although during the last few months I have 
seen but two or three numbers of English papers, 
I make no doubt that so many good, bad, and 
indifferent descriptions of every corner and every 
alley in this town have appeared in print, that 
Londoners are by this time as well acquainted 
with it as they are with Richmond or Clapham. 
Versailles must, indeed, be a household word — 
not to say a household nuisance — in England. 
It has been a dull, stupid place, haunted by its 
ancient grandeurs ; with too large a palace, too 
large streets, and too large houses, for many a 
year ; and while the presence of a Prussian 
army and a Prussian Emperor may render it 
more interesting, they fail to make it more live- 
ly. Of the English correspondents, some have 
gone into Paris in quest of "phases" and im- 
pressions ; many, however, still remain here, 
battening upon the fat of the land, in the midst 
of kings and princes, counts and what not. I 
myself have seldom got beyond a distant view 
of such grand beings. What I know even of 
the nobility of my native land, is derived from 
perusing the accounts of their journeys in the 
fashionable newspapers, and from the whispered 
confidences of their third cousins. To find my- 
self in familiar intercourse with people who ha- 
bitually hobnob at Royal tables, and who invite 
Royal Highnesses to drop in promiscuously and 
smoke a cigar, almost turns my head. To-mor- 
row I shall return to Paris, because I feel, were 
I to remain long in such grand company I should 
become proud and haughty, and, perhaps, give 
myself airs when restored to the society of my 
relatives, who are honest but humble. There 
is at present no difficulty in leaving Paris. A 
pass is given at the Prefecture to all who ask 
for one, and it is an "open sesame" to the 
Prussian lines. I came by way of Issy, dragged 
along by an aged Rosinante, so weak from low 
living that I was obliged to get out and walk 
the greater part of the way, as he positively de- 
clined to draw me and the chaise. This beast 
I have only been allowed to bring out of Paris 
after having given my word of honor that I 
would bring him back, in order, if necessary, to 
be slain and eaten, though I very much doubt 
whether a tolerably hungry rat would find meat 
enough on his bones for a dinner. 

I have been this morning sitting with a friend 
who, under the promise of the strictest secrecy, 
has given me an account of the condition of af- 
fairs here. I trust, therefore, that no one will 
mention any thing that may be found in this 
letter directly or indirectly relating to the Prus- 
sians. The old King, it appears, is by no means 
happy as an Emperor. He was only persuaded 
to accept this title for the sake of his son, " Our 



Feu. Gtii.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



125 



Fritz," and he goes about much like some Eng- 
lish squire of long descent, who has been in- 
duced to allow himself to be converted into a 
brand-new peer, overpersuaded by his ambitious 
progeny. William is one of that numerous class 
of persons endowed with more heart than brains. 
Putting aside, or regarding rather as the delu- 
sion of a diseased brain, his notion that he is an 
instrument of Heaven, and that he is born to 
rule over Prussian souls by right divine, the old 
man is by no means a bad specimen of a good- 
natured, well-meaning, narrow-minded soldier 
of the S. U. S. C. type ; and between Bismarck 
and Moltke he has of late had by no means an 
easy time. These two worthies, instead of be- 
ing, as we imagined in Paris, the best of friends, 
abominate each other. During the siege Moltke 
would not allow Bismarck to have a seat at any 
council of war ; and in order to return the com- 
pliment, Bismarck has not allowed Moltke to 
take any part in the negotiations respecting the 
armistice, except on the points which were ex- 
clusively military. Bismarck tells the French 
that, had it not been lor him, Paris Mould have 
been utterly destroyed, while Moltke grumbles 
because it has not been destroyed — an achieve- 
ment which this talented captain somewhat sin- 
gularly imagines would fittingly crown his mil- 
itary career. But this is not the only domestic 
jar which destroys the harmony of the happy 
German family at Versailles. In Prussia it has 
been the habit, from time immemorial, for the 
heir to the throne to coquette with the Liberals, 
and to be supposed to entertain progressive opin- 
ions. The Crown Prince pursues this heredi- 
tary policy of his family. He has surrounded 
himself with intelligent men, hostile to the pres- 
ent state of things, and who understand that in 
the present age no country can be great and 
powerful where all who are not country gentle- 
men, chamberlains, or officers, are excluded 
from all share in its government. Bismarck, 
on the other hand, is the representative, or rath- 
er the business man, of the squirearchy and of 
the Vons — much in the same way as Mr. Dis- 
raeli is of the Conservatives in England; and, 
like the latter, he despises his own friends, and 
scoffs at the prejudices, a pretended belief in 
which has served them as a stepping-stone to 
power. The consequence of this divergency of 
opinion is, that Bismarck and " Our Fritz" are 
very nearly what school-boys call " cuts," and 
consequently, when the old King dies, Bismarck's 
power will die with him, unless he is wise enough 
to withdraw beforehand from public life. "Our 
Fritz," I hear, has done his best to prevent the 
Prussian batteries from doing any serious dam- 
age to Paris, and has not concealed from his 
friends that he considers that the bombardment 
was, in the words of Fouche, worse than a crime 
— an error. 

I find many of the Prussian officers improved 
by success. Those with whom I have come in 
personal contact have been remarkably civil and 
polite, but I confess that — speaking of course 
generally — the sight of these mechanical instru- 



ments of war, brought to the highest state of 
perfection in the trade of butchery, lording it in 
France, is to me most offensive. I abhor every 
thing which they admire. They are proud of 
walking about in uniform with a knife by their 
side. I prefer the man without the uniform 
and without the knife. They despise all who 
are engaged in commercial pursuits. I regard 
merchants and traders as the best citizens of a 
free country. They imagine that the man whose 
ancestors have from generation to generation 
obscurely vegetated upon some dozen acres is 
the superior of the man who has made himself 
great without the adventitious aid of birth ; I 
do not. When Jules Favre met Bismarck over 
here the other day, the latter spoke of Bourbaki 
as a traitor, because he had been untrue to his 
oath to Napoleon. "And was his country to 
count for nothing?" answered Favre. "In 
Germany king and country are one and the 
same," replied Bismarck. This is the abomi- 
nable creed which is inculcated by the military 
squires who now hold the destinies of France 
and of Germany in their hands; and on this 
detestable heresy they dream of building up a 
new code of political ethics in Europe. Liber- 
alism and common sense are spreading even in 
the arm}'; but take a Tory squire, a Groom of 
the Chamber, and a Life-guardsman, boil them 
down, and you will obtain the ordinary type of 
the Prussian officer. 

For my part, I look with grim satisfaction to 
the future. The unity of Germany has been 
brought about by the union of Prussian Feudal- 
ists and German Radicals. The object is now 
attained, and I sincerely hope that the former 
will find themselves in the position of cats who 
have drawn the chestnuts out of the fire for oth- 
ers to eat. If "Our Fritz," still following in 
the steps of his ancestors, throws off his Liberal- 
ism with his Crown Princedom, his throne will 
not be a bed of roses ; it is fortunate, therefore, 
for him, that he is a man of good sense. I am 
greatly mistaken if the Germans will long sub- 
mit to the horde of squires, of princes, of officers, 
and of court flunkeys, who together, at present, 
form the ruling class. Among the politicians 
here there is a strong feeling of dislike to the 
establishment of a Republic in France. If they 
could have their own way they would re-estab- 

j lish the Empire. But those who imagine that 
this is possible understand very little of the 
French character. The Napoleonic legend was 
the result of an epoch of military glory ; the ca- 
pitulation of Sedan not only scotched it, but 
killed it. A Frenchman still believes in the 
military superiority of his race over every other 
race, as firmly as he believes in his own exist- 
ence. If a French army is defeated, it is ow- 
ing to the treachery or the incapacity of the 
commander. If a battle be lost, the General 
must pay the penalty for it ; for his soldiers are 
invincible. It is Napoleon, according to the 

[ received theory, who has succumbed in the pres- 
ent war ; not the French nation. If Napoleon 

! be restored to power, the nation will accept the 



326 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Feb. Gth. 



responsibility which ^hey now lay to his door. 
The pride and vanity of every Frenchman are 
consequently the strongest securities against an 
Imperial Restoration. Were I a betting man, 
I would bet twenty to one against the Bona- 
partes ; even against a Republic lasting for two 
years ; and I would take five to one against the 
CJomte de Paris becoming King of the French, 
and three to one against the Due d'Aumale be- 
ing elected President of the Republic. This 
would be my "book" upon the political French 
Derby. 

The Prussians are making diligent use of the 
armistice to complete their engineering work 
round Paris, and they appear to consider it pos- 
sible that they may yet have trouble with the 
city. If this be their opinion, I can only say 
that they are badly served by their spies. The 
resistance a outrance men in Paris, who never 
did any thing but talk, will very possibly still 
threaten to continue the struggle ; but they will 
not fight themselves, and most assuredly they 
will not find others to fight for them. If the 
preliminaries of peace be signed at Bordeaux, 
Paris will not protest ; if they are rejected, Paris 
will not expose itself to certain destruction by 
any attempt at further resistance, but will capitu- 
late, not as the capital of France, but as a be- 
sieged French town. General Vinoy is absolute 
master of the situation ; he is a calm, sensible 
man, and will listen to no nonsense either from 
the "patriots," or his predecessors, or from 
Gambetta. From the tone of the decree of the 
latter of the 3d inst., he seems to be under the 
impression that he is still the idol of the Paris- 
ians. Never did a man labor under so com- 
plete a delusion. Before, by a lucky speech, 
he was pitchforked into the Corps Legislatif, he 
was a briefless lawyer, who used to talk very 
loudly and with vast emphasis at the Cafe' de 
Madrid. He is now regarded as a pot-house 
politician, who ought never to have been allowed 
to get beyond the pot-house. 

The Germans appear to be carrying on the 
^Yar upon the same principles of international 
law which formed many thousand years ago the 
rule of conqujst among the Israelites. They 
are spoiling the Egyptians with a vengeance. 
Even in this town, under the very eyes of the 
King, there is one street — the Boulevard de la 
Reine — in which almost every house is absolute- 
ly gutted. This, I hear, was done by the Ba- 
varians. The German army may have many 
excellent qualities, but chivalry is not among 
them. War with them is a business. When 
a nation is conquered, there is no sentimental 
pity for it, but as much is to be made out of 
it as possible. Like the elephants, which can 
crush a tree or pick up a needle, they conquer 
a province and they pick a pocket. As soon as 
a German is quartered in a room he sends for 
a box and some straw ; then carefully and 
methodically packs up the clock on the mantel- 
piece, and all the stray ornaments which he can 
lay his hands on ; and then, with a tear glisten- 
ing in his eye for his absent family, directs them 



either to his mother, his wife, or his lady-love.- 
In vain the proprietor protests ; the philosophi- 
cal warrior utters the most noble sentiments 
respecting the horrors of war ; ponderously ex- 
plains that the French do not sufficiently ap- 
preciate the blessings of peace ; and that he is 
one of the humble instruments whose mission it 
is to make these blessings clear to them. Then 
he rings the bell, and in a mild and gentle voice 
orders his box of loot to be carried off by his 
military servant. Ben Butler and his New., 
Englanders in New Orleans might have profit- 
ably taken lessons from these all-devouring 
locusts. Nothing escapes them. They have 
long rods which they thrust into the ground to. 
see whether any thing of value has been buried 
in the gardens. Sometimes they confiscate a 
house, and then re-sell it to the proprietor. 
Sometimes they cart off the furniture. Pianos 
they are very fond of. When they see one, 
they first sit down and play a few sentimental 
ditties, then they go away, requisition a cart, and 
minstrel and instrument disappear together. 
They are a singular mixture of bravery and, 
meanness. No one can deny that they possess 
the former quality, but they are courageous with- 
out one spark of heroism. After fighting all 
day, they will rifle the corpses of their fallen 
foes of every article they can lay their hands on, 
and will return to their camp equally happy be- 
cause they have won a great victory for Father- 
land, and stolen a watch from one of the ene- 
mies of Fatherland. They have got now into 
such a habit of appropriating other people's 
property, that I confess I tremble when one of 
them fixes his cold glassy eye upon me. I see 
that he is meditating some new philosophical 
doctrine, which some way or other will trans- 
fer what is in my pocket into his. His mind, 
however, fortunately, works but slowly, and I 
am far away from him before he has elaborated 
to his own satisfaction a system of confiscation 
applicable to my watch or purse.* 



* Several complaints having been received- from 
Germans respecting these charges against the Ger- 
man armies, the following extract from an Article- 
quoted by the Pall Mall Gazette— in his new paper Im 
Neuen Reich, by the well-known German author, Herr 
Gustav Freytag, will prove that they are not unfound- 
ed : " Officers and soldiers," he says, " have been liv- 
ing for mouths under the bronze clocks, marble ta- 
bles, damask hangings, artistic furniture, oil-paintings, 
and costly engravings of Parisian industry. The mus- 
keteers of Posen and Silesia broke up the velvet sofas 
to make soft beds, destroyed the richly inlaid tables, 
and took the books out of the book-cases for fuel in 

the cold winter evenings It was. lamentable to 

see the beautiful picture of a celebrated painter 
smeared over by our soldiers with coal-dust, a Hebe 
with her arms knocked off, a priceless Buddhist 

manuscript lying torn in the chimney grate 

Then people 'began to think it would be a good 
thing to obtain such beautiful and tasteful articles for 
one's friends. A system of ' salvage * was thus intro- 
duced, which it is said even eminent and distinguished 
men in the army winked at. Soldiers bargained for 
them with the Jews and hucksters who swarm at Ver- 
sailles ; officers thought of the adornment of their own 
houses : and such things as could be easily packed, 
such as engravings and oil-paintings, were in danger of 
being cut out of their frames and rolled up for home 
consumption." Herr Freytag then points out that 
these articles are private property, and that the officers 
and soldiers had no right to appropriate them to their 



Feu. 7th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



127 



Paris, February 1th. 
Rosinantc has brought me back with much 
wheezing from Versailles to Paris ; and with 
me he brought General Duff, U. S. A., and a 
leg of mutton. At the gate of Versailles we 
were stopped by the sentinels, who told us that 
no meat could be allowed to leave the town. I 
protested, but in vain. Mild blue-eyed Teu- 
tons with porcelain pipes in their mouths bore 
off my mutton. The General protested too, 
but the protest of the citizen of the Free Re- 
public fared like mine. I followed my mutton 
into the guard-house, where I found a youthful 
officer, who looked so pleasant that I determined 
to appeal to the heart which beat beneath his 
uniform. I attacked the heart on its weak 
side. I explained to him that it was the fate 
of all to love. The warrior assented, and 
heaved a great sigh to his absent Gretchen. I 
pursued my advantage, and passed from gener- 
alities to particulars. "My lady-love," I said, 
"is in Paris. Long have I sighed in vain. I 
am taking her now a leg of mutton. On this 
leg hang all my hopes of bliss. If I present 
myself to her with this token of my affection, 
she may yield to my suit. Oh, full-of-feeling, 
loved -of- beauteous -worn en, German warrior, 
can you refuse me?'' He "gazed on the joint 
that caused his shame ; gazed and looked, then 
looked again." The battle was won ; the van- 
quished victor stalked forth, forgetting the sol- 
dier in the man, and gave order that the Gen- 
eral, the Englishman, and the leg of mutton 
should be allowed to go forth in peace. Ros- 
inante toiled along towards Paris ; we passed 
through St. Cloud, now a heap of ruins, and we 
arrived at the Bridge of Neuilly. Here our 
passes were examined by a German official, 
who was explaining every moment to a French 
crowd in his native language that they could 
not be allowed to pass into Paris without per- 
mits. The crowd was mainly made up of 
women, who were earning in bags, pocket- 
handkerchiefs, and baskets of loaves, eggs, and 
butter to their beleaguered friends. "Is it not 
too bad of him that he will pretend not to un- 
derstand French?" said an old lady to me. 
"He looks like a fiend," said another lady, 
looking up at the good-natured face of the stol- 
id military jailer. The contrast between the 
shrieking, gesticulating, excited French, and the 
calm, cool, indifferent air of the German, was 
I curious one. It was typical of that between 
the two races. Having reached Paris, I con- 
signed poor old long Rosinante to his fate— the 
knackers, and, with my leg of mutton under my 
arm, walked down the Boulevard. I was mob- 
bed, positively mobbed. " Sir," said one man, 
" allow me to smell it." With my usual gen- 
erosity I did so. How I reached my hotel with 
my precious burden in safety is a perfect mys- 

ownii.se. "We are proud and happy," he concludes, 
addressing them, "at your warlike deeds; behave 
worthily and honorably also as men. Come back to 
us from this terrible war with pure consciences and 
clean hands." 



tery. N.B. — The mutton was for a friend of 
mine ; Gretchen was a pious fraud ; all being 
fair in love and war. 

In the quarter in which I live I find that the 
rations have neither been increased nor dimin- 
ished. They still remain at three-fifths of a 
pound of bread, and one-twenty-fifth of a pound 
of meat per diem. In some other districts a 
little beef has been distributed. Some flour 
has come in from Orleans, and it is expected 
that in the course of a few days the bread will 
cease to be made of the peas, potatoes, and oats 
which we now eat. In the restaurants, beef — 
real beef— is to be obtained for little more than 
three times its normal price. Fish, too, in con- 
siderable quantities has been introduced by 
some enterprising speculator. The two dele- 
gates, also, of the Lord Mayor's Relief Fund 
have arrived with provisions, etc. This even- 
ing they are to telegraph to London for more. 
These gentlemen are somewhat at sea with re- 
spect to what is wanted, and by what means it 
is to be distributed. One of them did me the 
honor to consult me this afternoon on these two 
points. With respect to the latter, I recom- 
mended him to take the advice of Mr. Herbert 
— to whose energy it is due that during the 
siege above one thousand English have not been 
starved — and the Archbishop of Paris, who is a 
man of sterling benevolence, with a minimum 
of sectarianism. With respect to the former, I 
recommended Liebig, milk, and bacon. The 
great point appears to me to be that the relief 
should be bestowed on the right persons. The 
women and children have been the greatest 
sufferers of late. The mortality is still very 
great among them ; not because they are abso- 
lutely without food, for the rations are distrib- 
uted to all ; but because they are in want of 
something more strengthening than the rations. 
Coal is wanted here as much as food. The 
poorer classes are without the means of cooking 
whatever meat they may obtain, and it is al- 
most impossible for them, on account of the 
same reason, to make soup. If I might ven- 
ture a suggestion to the charitable in England, 
it would be to send over a supply of fuel. 

I had some conversation with a gentleman 
connected with the Government this evening 
respecting the political situation. He tells me 
that Arago, Pelletan. and Gamier Pages were 
delighted to leave Paris, and that it was only 
the absolute necessity of their being as soon as 
possible at Bordeaux, that induced General Vi- 
noy to consent to their departure. As for 
Gambetta, he says, it is not probable that he 
has now rhany adherents in the provinces ; and 
it is certain that he has very few here. When 
a patient is given up by the faculty, a quack is 
called in ; if the quack effects a cure, he is laud- 
ed to the skies ; if he fails, he is regarded as a 
charlatan, and this is now the case with M. 
Gambetta. My informant is of opinion that a 
large number of Ultra-Radicals will be elected 
in Paris ; this will be because the Moderates 
are split up into small cliques, and each clique 



128 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Feb. 7th. 



insists upon its own candidates being sup- 
ported ; whereas the Internationale commands 
60,000 votes, which will all be cast for the list 
adopted by the heads of that society, and because 
the National Guard are averse to all real work, 
and hope that the Ultras will force the National 
Assembly to continue to pay them the 1 fr. 50 c. 
which they now receive, for an indefinite period. 
Gambetta, in his desire to exclude from political 
power a numerous category of his fellow-citi- 
zens, has many imitators here. Some of the 
journals insist that not only the Bonapartists, 
but also the Legitimists and the Orleanists, 
should be disfranchised. They consider that, 
as a preliminary step to electing a National As- 
sembly to decide whether a Republic is hence- 
forward to be the form of government of the 
country, it is desirable, as well as just, to oblige 
all candidates to swear that it shall be. The 
fact is, the French, no matter what their opinions 
may be, seem to have no idea of political ques- 
tions being decided by a majority ; or of a mi- 
nority submitting to the fiat of this majority. 
Each citizen belongs to a party ; to the creed 
of this party, either through conviction or per- 
sonal motives, he adheres, and regards every 
one who ventures to entertain other views as a 
scoundrel, an idiot, or a traitor. I confess that 
I have always regarded a Republican form of 
government as the best, wherever it is possible. 
But in France it is not possible. The people 
are not sufficiently educated, and have not suf- 
ficient common sense for it. Were I a French- 
man, a Republic would be my dream of the fu- 
ture ; for the present I should be in favor of a 
Constitutional Monarchy. A Republic would 
soon result in anarchy or in despotism ; and 
without any great love for kings of any kind, I 
prefer a Constitutional Monarch to either An- 
archy or a Cajsar. One must take a practical 
view of things in this world, and not sacrifice 
what is good by a vain attempt to attain at once 
what is better. 

Will the Prussians enter Paris ? is the ques- 
tion which I have been asked by every French- 
man to whom I have mentioned that I have been 
at Versailles. This question overshadows ev- 
ery other; and I am fully convinced that this 
vain, silly population would rather that King 
William should double the indemnity which he 
demands from France than march with his 
troops down the Rue Rivoli. The fact that 
they have been conquered is not so bitter to the 
Parisians as the idea of that fact being brought 
home to them by the presence of their conquer- 
ors even for half an hour within the walls of 
the sacred city. I have no very great sympa- 
thy with the desire of the Prussians to march 
through Paris; and I have no great sympathy 
with the horror which is felt by the Parisians 
at their intention to do so. The Prussian flag 
waves over the forts, and consequently, to all in- 
tents and purposes, Paris has capitulated. A 
triumphal march along the main streets will not 
mend matters, nor mar matters. "Attila with- 
out " stands before vanquished Paris as the 



, Cimbrian slave did before Marias. The sword 
: drops from his hand : "Awed by the majesty of 
the past, he flees and dares not strike," is the 
way in which a newspaper I have just bought 
deals with the question. It is precisely this 
sort of nonsense which makes the Prussians de- 
termined that the Parisians shall drink the cup 
of humiliation to its last dregs. 

I was told at Versailles that St. Cloud had 
been set on fire on the morning after the last 
sortie, and that although many houses were still 
burning when the armistice was signed, none 
had subsequently been either pillaged or burnt. 
This act of vandalism has greatly incensed the 
French ; and I understand that the King of 
Prussia himself regrets it, and throws the blame 
of it on one of his generals, who acted without 
orders. A lady who was to-day at St. Cloud 
tells me that she found Germans eating in every 
room of her house. Both officers and men were 
very civil to her. They told her that she might 
take away any thing that belonged to her, and 
helped to carry to her carriage some valuable 
china, which, by good luck, had not been smash- 
ed. With respect to the charge of looting pri- 
vate property, which is brought by the French 
against their invaderi, no unprejudiced person 
can, after looking into the evidence, doubt that, 
whilst in the German army there are many offi- 
cers, and even privates, who have done their 
best to prevent pillage, many articles of value 
have disappeared from houses which have been 
occupied by the German troops, and much wan- 
ton damage has been committed in them. I as- 
sert the fact, without raising the question wheth- 
er or not these are the necessary consequences 
of war. It is absurd for the Germans to pretend 
that the French Francs-tireurs are the culprits, 
and not they. Francs-tireurs were never in the 
Boulevard de la Reine at Versailles, and yet the 
houses in this street have been gutted of every 
thing available. 

I venture to repeat a question which I have 
already frequently asked — Where is the gentle- 
man who enjoys an annual salary as British 
Consul at Paris ? Why was he absent during 
the siege ? Why is he absent now ? Why is 
a banker, who has other matters to attend to, 
discharging his duties? I am a tax-payer and 
an elector ; if "my member " docs not obtain a 
reply to these queries from the official represent- 
ative of the Foreign-office in the House of Com- 
mons, I give him fair notice that he will shake 
me by the hand, ask after my health, and affect 
a deep interest in my reply, in vain at the next 
general election ; he will not have my vote. 

The Electeur Libre, the journal of M. Picard, 
has put forth a species of political programme, 
or rather a political defense of the wing of the 
Government of National Defense to which that 
gentleman belongs. For a French politician to 
praise himself in his own organ, and to say un- 
der the editorial "we" that he intends to vote 
for himself, and that he has the greatest confi- 
dence in his own wisdom, is regarded here as 
nothing but natural. 



Feu. 9th.] 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



129 



Paris, February 9th. 

"We have been conquered in the field, but 
we have gained a moral victory." What this 
phrase means I have not the remotest idea ; hut 
as it consoles those who utter it, they are quite 
right to do so. For the last two days long lines 
of cannon have issued from the city gates, and 
have been, without noise or parade, handed over 
to the Prussians at Issy and Sevran. Few are 
aware of what has taken place, or know that 
their surrender had been agreed to by M. Jules 
Favre. Representations having been made to 
Count Bismarck that 10,000 armed soldiers 
were insufficient for the maintenance of the 
peace of the capital, by an additional secret 
clause added to the armistice the number has 
been increased to 25,000. The greatest ill- 
feeling exists between the Army and the Na- 
tional Guards in the most populous quarters. 
A general quartered in one of the outer fau- 
bourgs went yesterday to General Vinoy, and 
told him that if he and his men were to 
be subjected to insults whenever they showed 
themselves in the streets, he could not continue 
to be responsible for either his or their conduct. 
Most persons of sense appear to consider that the 
armistice was an error, and that the wiser poli- 
cy would have been to have surrendered with- 
out conditions. M. Jules Favre is blamed for 
not having agreed, upon the occasion, to disarm 
the National Guards. Many of their battal- 
ions, as long as they have arms, and receive 
pay for doing nothing, will be a standing dan- 
ger to order. The sailors have been paid off, 
and the fears that were entertained of their 
getting drunk and uproarious have not been 
confirmed. They are peaceably and sentiment- 
ally spending their money with the "black-eyed 
Susans " of their affections. 

The principal journalists are formally agita- 
ting the plan of a combined movement to urge 
the population to protest against the Prussian 
triumphal march through the city, by absence 
from the streets through which the invading 
army is to defile. Several are, however, op- 
posed to any action, as they fear that their ad- 
vice will not be followed. Curiosity is one of 
the strongest passions of the "Parisians, and it 
will be almost impossible for them to keep away 
from the " sight." Even in Coventry one Peep- 
ing Tom was found, and here there are many 
Peeping Toms. Mr. Moore and Colonel Stuart 
Wortley, the delegates of the London Relief 
Fund, have handed over £5000 worth of provis- 
ions to the Mayors to be distributed. They could 
scarcely have found worse agents. The Mayors 
have proved themselves thoroughly inefficient 
administrators, and most of them are noisy, 
unpractical humbugs. Colonel Stuart Wortley 
and Mr. Moore are very anxious to find means 
to approach what are called here les pauvres 
honteuses ; that is to say, persons who are in 
want of assistance, but who are ashamed to ask 
for it. From what they told me yesterday even- 
ing, they are going to obtain two or three names 
of well-known charitable persons in each arron- 



dissement, and ask them to make the distribution 
of the rest of their provisions in store here, and 
of those which are expected shortly to arrive. 
Many families from the villages in the neigh- 
borhood of Paris have been driven within its 
walls by the invaders, and are utterly destitute. 
In the opinion of these gentlemen, they are fit- 
ting objects for charity. The fact is, the diffi- 
culty is not so much to find people in want of 
relief, but to find relief for the thousands who 
require it. Ten, twenty, or thirty thousand 
pounds are a mere drop in the ocean, so wide- 
spread is the distress. "I have committed 
many sins," said a Bishop of the Church of 
England, "but when I appear before my Mak- 
er, and say that I never gave to one single beg- 
gar in the streets they will be forgiven." There 
are many persons in England who, like this 
prelate, are afraid to give to beggars, lest their 
charity should be ill applied. No money, no 
food, no clothes, and no fuel, if distributed with 
ordinary discretion, can be misapplied at pres- 
ent in Paris. The French complain that all 
they ever get from England is good advice and 
sterile sympathy. Now is the moment for us 
to prove to them that, if we were not prepared 
to go to war in order to protect them from the 
consequences of their own folly, we pity them 
in their distress ; and that our pity means some- 
thing more than words and phrases which feed 
no one, clothe no one, and warm no one. 

The Prussian authorities appear to be delib- 
erately setting to work to render the armistice 
as unpleasant to the Parisians as possible, in 
order to force them to consent to no matter 
what terms of peace in order to get rid of them ; 
and I must congratulate them upon the success 
of their efforts. They refuse now to recognize 
passes signed by the Prefect of the Police, and 
only recognize those bearing the name of Gen- 
eral Valdau, the chief of the staff. To-morrow, 
very likely, they will require some fresh signa- 
ture. Whenever a French railroad company 
advertises the departure of a train at a particu- 
lar hour, comes an order from the Prussians to 
alter that hour. Every Frenchman who quits 
Paris is subjected to a hundred small, teasing 
vexations from these military bureaucrats, and 
made to feel, at every step he takes, that he is a 
prisoner on leave of absence, and only breathes 
the air of his native land by the good-will of his 
conquerors. The English public must not for- 
get that direct postal communications between 
Paris and foreign countries are not re-establish- 
ed. Letters from and to England must be ad- 
dressed to some agent at Versailles or elsewhere, 
and from thence re-addressed to Paris. As in 
a day or two trains will run pretty regularly 
between Paris and London, had our diplomatic 
wiseacres been worth in pence what they cost 
us in pounds, by this time they would have made 
some arrangement to insure a daily mail-bag to 
England leaving Paris. 

News was received yesterday that Gambetta 
had resigned, and it has been published this 
morning in the Journal Officiel. A witness of 



130 



THE BESIEGED RESIDENT IN PARIS. 



[Feb. 10th. 



the Council at which it was agreed to send the 
three old women of the Government to Bor- 
deaux to replace him, tells me that every body 
kissed and hugged every body for half an hour. 
The old women were ordered to arrest Gambetta 
if he attempted resistance. It was much like 
telling a street-sweeper to arrest a stalwart 
Guardsman. ' ' Do not be rash," cried Trochu. 
"We will not," replied the old women; "we 
will remain in one of the suburbs of Bordeaux 
until we learn that we can enter it with safety." 
This reply removed from the minds of their 
friends any fear that they would incur unnec- 
essary risks in carrying out their mission. 

Provisions are arriving pretty freely. All 
fear of absolute famine has disappeared. To- 
day the bread is far better than any we have 
had of late. Some sheep and oxen were seen 
yesterday in the streets. 

The walls are covered with the professions 
of faith of citizens who aspire to the honor of a 
seat in the National Assembly. We have the 
candidate averse to public affairs, but yielding 
to the request of a large number of supporters ; 
the candidate who feels within himself the power 
to save the country, and comes forward to do 
so ; the candidate who is young and vigorous, 
although as yet untried ; the candidate who is 
old and wise, but still vigorous ; the man-of- 
business candidate ; the man-of-leisure can- 
didate, who will devote his days and nights to 
the service of the country; then there is the 
military candidate, whose name, he modestly 
flatters himself, has been heard above the din 
of battle, and typifies armed Prance. I recom- 
mend to would-be M.P.'s at home the plan of 
M. Maronini. He has as yet done nothing to 
entitle him to the suffrages of the electors be- 
yond making printing-presses, which are excel- 
lent and very cheap ; so he heads his posters 
with a likeness of himself. Why an elector 
should vote for a man because he has an ugly 
face, I am not aware ; but the Citizen Maronini 
seems to be under the impression that, from a 
fellow-feeling at least, all ugly men will do so ; 
and perhaps he is right. Another candidate 
commences his address: il Citoyens, je suis le 
representant du go ahead." 

In the clubs last night everyone was talking, 
and no one was listening. Even the Citizen 
Sans, with his eternal scarlet shawl girt round 
his waist, could not obtain a hearing. The 
Citizen Beaurepaire in vain shouted that, if 
elected, he would rather hew off his own arm 
than sign away Alsace and Lorraine. This 
noble figure of rhetoric, which had never been 
uttered by a club orator during the siege with- 
out eliciting shouts of applause, was received 
with jeers. The absurdity of the proceedings 
at this electoral gathering is, that a candidate 
considers himself insulted if any elector ventures 
to ask him a question. The president, too, loses 
his temper half a dozen times every hour, and 
shakes his fist, screams and jabbers, like an irate 
chimpanzee, at the audience. If the prelim- 
inary electoral meetings are ridiculous, the sys- 



tem of voting, on the other hand, is perfect in 
comparison with ours. Paris to-day in the 
midst of a general election is by far more order- 
ly than any English rotten village on the poll- 
ing-day. Three days ago each elector received 
at his own house a card, telling him where he 
was to vote. Those who were entitled to the 
suffrage, and by accident did not get one of 
these cards, went the next day to their respect- 
ive mairies to obtain one. I have just come 
from one of the rooms in which the votes are 
taken. I say rooms ; for the Parisians do not 
follow our silly example, and build up sheds at 
the cost of the candidate. At one end of this 
room was a long table. A box was in the mid- 
dle of it, and behind the box sat an employe. 
To his right sat another. The elector went 
up to this latter, gave in his electoral card, and 
wrote his name ; he then handed to the central 
employe his list of names, folded up. This the 
employe put into the box. About thirty Na- 
tional Guards were on duty in or about the 
room. The box will remain on the table until 
to-night, and the National Guards during this 
time will not lose sight of it; they will then 
carry it to the Hotel de Ville, where it, and all 
other voting-boxes, will be publicly opened, the 
votes counted up, and the result, as soon as it is 
ascertained, announced. How very un-English, 
some Briton will observe. I can only say that 
I regret it is un-English. Our elections are a 
disgrace to our civilization, and to that common 
sense of which we are forever boasting that we 
possess so large a share. Last year I was in 
New York during a general election ; this year 
I am in Paris during one ; and both New York 
and Paris are far ahead of us in their mode of 
registering the votes of electors. 



CHAPTER XX. 



Calais, February 10th. 
At 4 o'clock p.m. on Wednesday I took my 
departure from Paris, leaving, much with the 
feelings of Daniel when he emerged from the 
lions' den, its inhabitants wending their way to 
the electoral "urns;" the many revolving in 
their minds how France and Paris were to man- 
age to pay the little bill which their creditor 
outside is making up against them ; the few — 
the very few — still determined to die rather than 
yield, sitting in the cafes on the boulevard, which 
is to be, I presume, their " last ditch." Many 
correspondents, "special," "our own," and 
"occasional," had arrived, and were girding up 
their loins for the benefit of the British public. 
Baron Rothschild had been kind enough to give 
me a pass which enabled me to take the Amiens 
train at the goods-station within the walls of 
the city, instead of driving, as those less fortu- 
nate were obliged to do, to Gonesse. My pass 
had been signed by the proper authorities, and 
the proper authorities, for reasons best known 
to themselves — I presume because they had elec- 
tions on the brain — had dubbed me "Member 



Feu. 10th.] 



THE BESIE( 



ENT IN PARIS. 



131 



of the House of Commons, rendering himself to 
England to assist at the conferences of the Par- 
liament." I have serious thoughts of tendering 
this document to the door-keeper of the august 
sanctuary of the collective wisdom of my coun- 
try, to discover whether he will recognize its 
validity. 

The train was drawn up before a shed in the 
midst of an ocean of mud. It consisted of one 
passenger-carriage, and of about half a mile of 
empty bullock-vans. The former was already 
filled ; so, as a bullock, I embarked — I may add, 
as an ill-used bullock ; for I had no straw to sit 
on. At St. Denis, a Prussian official inspected 
our passes, and at Gonesse about 200 passengers 
struggled into the bullock-vans. "We reached 
Creil, a distance of thirty miles, at 11 30. I 
and my fellow-bullocks here made a rusli at the 
buffet. But it was closed. So we had to re- 
turn to our vans, very hungry, very thirsty, very 
sulky, and very wet ; for it was raining hard. 
In this pleasant condition we remained until 
9 o'clock on Thursday ; occasionally slowly pro- 
gressing for a few miles ; then making a halt 
of an hour or two. Why ? No one — not even 
the guard — could tell. All he knew was, that 
the Prussians had hung out a signal ordering 
us, their slaves, to halt, and therefore halt we 
must. We did the forty miles between Creil 
and Breteuil in ten hours. There, in a small 
inn, we found some eggs and bread, which we 
devoured like a flight of famished locusts. It 
was very cold, and several of us sought shelter 
in a room at the station, where there was a fire. 
In the middle of this room there were two chairs ; 
on one of them sat a Prussian soldier, on the 
other reposed his legs. He was a big red-hair- 
ed fellow, and evidently in some corner of his 
Fatherland passed as a man of wit and humor. 
He was good enough to explain to us, with a 
pleasant smile, that in his eyes we were a very 
contemptible sort of people, and that if we did 
not consent to all the terms of peace which were 
proposed by " the Bismarck," he and his fellow- 
warriors would burn our houses over our heads, 
and in many other ways make things generally 



uncomfortable to us. "Ah! speak to me of 
Manteuffel," he occasionally said : and as no 
one did speak to him of Manteuffel, he did so 
himself, and narrated to us many tales of the 
wondrous skill and intelligence of that eminent 
general. As he called, after the manner of his 
nation, a batterie &paderie, and otherwise Ger- 
manized the French language, much of his in- 
teresting conversation was unintelligible. 

We had been at Breteuil about an hour when 
a Prussian train came puffing up. I managed 
to induce an official to allow me to get into 
the luggage-van ; and thus, having started from 
Paris as a bullock, I reached Amiens at twelve 
o'clock as a carpet-bag. The Amiens station, 
a very large one covered in with glass, was 
crowded with Prussian soldiers; and for one 
hour I stood there the witness of and sufferer 
from unmitigated ruffianism. The French were 
knocked about and pushed about. Never were 
negro slaves treated with more contempt and 
brutality than they were by their conquerors. I 
could not stand on any spot for two minutes 
without being gruffly ordered to stand on an- 
other by some officer. Twice two soldiers 
raised their muskets with a general notion of 
staving in my skull "pour passer le temps." 
Frenchmen, whatever may be their faults, are 
always extremely courteous in all their relations 
with each other, and with strangers. In their 
wildest moments of excitement they are civil. 
They may poison you, or run a hook through 
you ; but they will do it, as Izaak Walton did 
with the worm, "as though they loved" you. 
They were perfectly cowed with the rough bul- 
lying of their masters. It is most astonishing 
— considering how good-natured Germans are 
when at home — that they should make them- 
selves so offensive in France, even duringa truce. 
At one o'clock I left this orgie of German ter- 
rorism in a train, and from thence to Calais all 
was straight sailing. At Abbeville we passed 
from the Prussian into the French lines. Ca- 
lais we reached at seven p.m., and right glad 
was I to eat a Calais supper and to sleep in a 
Calais bed. 



THE END. 



HARPER & BROTHERS' 



SPRING BOOK-LIST 



Harper & Brothers will send any of the following books by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the 
United States, on receipt of tlte price. A 

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postage stamps, or it may be obtained gratuitously on application to the Publishers personally. 



BARNES'S NOTES. 

Notes on the New Testament. By Albert 
Barnes. New Edition, Revised and greatly 
Improved. 

NOTES ON THE GOSPELS. With Maps 
and Illustrations. 2 vols., 12mo, Cloth, 
$3 00. 

NOTES ON THE ACTS. With Map and 
Illustrations. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50. 

NOTES ON THE ROMANS. {In Press.) 

The remaining volumes are in preparation. 

Among the last labors of the late Rev. Albert Barnes, 
accomplished with very great difficulty, owing to his 
almost complete loss of sight, was the careful and 
thorough revision of his popular Notes on the New 
Testament. It seemed eminently desirable, both 
to author and publishers, that these Notes should 
be made more valuable by incorporating in them the 
vast amount of light which science and discovery has 
in the last tweuty years thrown upon Scripture. In 
the new edition much has been added in the way of 
notes, and many valuable and interesting illustrations 
have been inserted. At the time of the author's death 
the manuscripts of all the volumes were ready for the 
press. The Gospels, in two volumes, and the Acts, in 
one volume, have just been published. The volume 
on Romans is being printed, and will soon be issued. 
The other volumes will appear at suitable intervals. 

The success which has attended these Notes encour- 
ages the hope that the new edition, made so much 
more valuable, will be eagerly welcomed by all stu- 
dents of Scripture. 

THE CRYPTOGRAM. A Novel. By James 
De Mille, Author of "The Dodge Club," 
" Cord and Creese," " The American Baron," 
&c. 8vo, Paper, $1 50 ; Cloth, $2 00. 

Readers who come to this book with fresh recollec- 
tions of the skillfully constructed narrative of "Cord 
and Creese," or other fictions from Mr. De Mille's facile 
pen, will not be disappointed. The cipher-writing or 
cryptogram, that forms the centre around which the 
incidents of the story are grouped, is quite as fasci- 
nating a puzzle as Wilkie Collins's "Moonstone" or 
the sea-buried manuscript of "Cord and Creese." 
From beginning to end of the volume the interest 
never flags; and the most exacting reader will find 
enough of dramatic surprises, startling incidents, and 
varied scenes and characters to satisfy him. Obed 
Chute, the American banker of the old style, is a well- 
drawn and lifelike portrait. Hilda, the 'intrigante of 
the book— a sort of more remorseless and passionate 
Becky Sharp — is likewise delineated with considerable 
skill and completeness. The strange fortunes of Guy 
Chetwynde and his youthful bride Zillah bring out 
in strong relief the characteristics of the hero and he- 
roine of the story, and cause the reader to have an ex- 
tremely vivid perception of their distinctive individ- 
uality, and a corresponding interest in all the startling 
vicissitudes amid which they move.— A". Y. Times. 



RAWLINSON'S MANUAL OF ANCIENT 
HISTORY. A Manual of Ancient History, 
from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the 
Western Empire. Comprising the History of 
Chaldsea, Assyria, Media, Babylonia, Lydia, 
Phoenicia, Syria, Judtea, Egypt, Carthage, Per- 
sia, Greece, Macedonia, Parthia, and Rome. 
By George Rawlinson, M. A., Camden Pro- 
fessor of Ancient History in the University of 
Oxford. 12mo, Cloth, $2 50. 

Few men are better fitted for such a task than Pro- 
fessor Rawlinson, and we find in this volume ample 
evidence that he has completed the undertaking in a 
very admirable way. He has ranged his authorities, 
given the result of modern investigations, and gener- 
ally brought the Manual up to the present date in a 
minute, concise, and accurate manner, which renders 
the volume a handy and excellent work of reference. 
— Examiner (London). 

As an analysis, it is excellent. The reader of Grote 
and Mommseu will do well to refresh his memory and 
systematize his knowledge by the perusal and re- 
perusal of Professor Rawlinsou's concise yet intelligi- 
ble summary. Students of ancient history owe him 
thanks for the time and trouble which he has bestowed 
upon the book. — Athenozum (London). 

Will be found a most useful book of reference. In 
respect to convenience of arrangement, clearness of 
statement, and general accuracy, it leaves nothing to 
be desired, and certainly has no rival in the field that 
it covers. We have found it especially satisfactory in 
the summaries that it gives of important groups of se- 
ries of events, without entering into unimportant de- 
tail ; such, for instance, as the legislation of Solon 
and the Gracchi, and the events of the Peloponnesian 
War. In Oriental history, Mr. Rawlinson is himself 
an authority, and this outline will possess a peculiar 
value. — Nation. 



SIR HARRY HOTSPUR OF HUMBLE- 
THWAITE. A Novel. By Anthony Trol- 
lope, Author of "The Vicar of Bullhamp- 
ton," "He Knew He was Right," "Small 
House at Allington," "The Warden," "Bar- 
chester Towers," &c. Illustrated. 8vo, Pa- 
per, 50 cents. 

In this novel we are glad to recognize a return to 
Mr. Trollope'8 old form. The characters are drawn 
with vigor and boldness, and the book may do good 
to many readers of both sexes. — London Times. 

This brilliant novelette appears to us decidedly 
more successful than any other of Mr. Trollope's short- 
er stories. No reader who begins to read the book 
will lay it down until the last page is turned.— Athe- 
nceum (London). 

One of Mr. Trollope's very best tales. — Spectator 
(London). 

A novel of remarkable power. — Examiner (Lon- 
don). 



Harper &* Brothers' List of New Books. 



TODD'S APPLE CULTURIST. The Apple 
Culturist. A Complete Treatise for the Prac- 
tical Pomologist. To Aid in Propagating the 
Apple, and Cultivating and Managing Orch- 
ards. Illustrated with Engravings of Eruit, 
Young and Old Trees, and Mechanical Devices 
employed in Connection with Orchards and the 
Management of Apples. By Sereno Ed- 
wards Todd, Author of "Young Farmer's 
Manual," &c. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50. 

America, as we all know, is the finest country in the 
world for apples. Nowhere else are found such mag- 
nificent specimens, either for beauty or flavor, or such 
a number of varieties. The culture of this delicious 
fruit has, however, been left greatly to chance, from the 
want of some scientific yet popular treatise on the sub- 
ject which would place the necessary information with- 
in the reach of our farmers. This want Mr. Todd has 
now supplied in "The Apple Culturist," a book which 
farmers will find of immense practical value. In an 
easy, familiar style, the author treats of every branch 
of the subject, from the laying out of an orchard to the 
harvesting and storage of the fruit. He has aimed to 
make his work a complete manual of practical inform- 
ation, and to tell every thing the farmer needs to 
know in regard to planting, budding, grafting, prun- 
ing, and all that relates to the care of apple-trees, the 
best means for improving varieties, etc. A large num- 
ber of illustrations and a comprehensive summary of 
the general principles of practical pomology are feat- 
ures which add greatly to its interest and value. No 
one who contemplates laying out a new orchard, or 
who has an old one which requires rejuvenation and 
improvement, 6hould fail to procure this work. 



EARL'S DENE. A Novel. By R. E. Fran- 
cillon. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. 

Crisp and trenchant, and as full, in his way, of quiet 
humor as is Voltaire in "Candide." * * * Has in it a 
very vivid dramatic element. More especially is it full 
of telling situations, which follow thick and fast upon 
each other. * * * A remarkably clever and well-written 
book. " Earl's Dene " is the best novel which we have 
read for some months. — Examiner (London). 



LOCAL TAXATION : being a Report of the 
Commission appointed by the Governor of 
New York, under the Authority of the Legis- 
lature, to Revise the Laws for the Assessment 
and Collection of State and Local Taxes. 
David A. Wells, Edwin Dodge, George 
W. Cutler, Commissioners. Revised and 
Corrected Edition. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. 

Note by the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners. 
—The edition of this Report published under the au- 
thority of the Legislature of New York was to a cer- 
tain extent imperfect, both in respect to some omis- 
sions and a lack of clearness in the statement of 
certain propositions. In the present edition these 
imperfections, so far as discovered, have been correct- 
ed, and the Report in every way made more clearly 
expressive of the arguments and conclusions of the 
Commissioners. David A. Wells. 



FAIR FRANCE : Impressions of a Traveler. 
Bv the Author of "John Halifax, Gentleman," 
1 * A Brave Lady, " ' ' Olive, " &c. 1 2mo, Cloth, 
$150. 

One of the freshest and most delightful books of 
travel that we have opened this many a day. It has 
all the characteristics that have made the author's 
writings welcome to so wide a circle of readers— the 
fine insight into character, the clear and suggestive 
description, the noble call to higher standards of 
duty, the gentle tenderness for all things human, and 
the devout reverence for all things divine.— Independ- 
ent. 

A gallery of pictures, full of warmth and color, and 
presenting us with all the phases of French life that 
were offered to the traveler before the desolation of 
war went over the laud.— N. Y. Evening Post. 



OUR GIRLS. Bv Dio Lewis, A.M., M.D. 
12mo, Cloth, $1 50. 

Dr. Lewis is well known as an acute observer, a 
man of great practical sagacity in sanitary reform, and 
a lively and brilliant writer upon medical subjects.— 
X. Y. Observer. 

Dr. Dio Lewis has inaugurated a new era in Amer- 
ican education. — X. Y. Independent. 

There is revolution in his clear-headed enthusiasm. 
—N. Y. Tribune. 

If Americans would listen to George Combe and our 
countryman Dio Lewis, they would become a wiser, 
better, and happier people.— Harriet Beecuer Stowe. 

FENTON'S QUEST. A Novel. By Miss M. 
E. Braddon, Author of "Aurora Floyd," 
"John Marchmont's Legacy," "Dead-Sea 
Fruit," &c. Illustrated. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. 



THE MUTINEERS OF THE BOUNTY. 
Some Account of the Mutineers of the Boun- 
ty and their Descendants in Pitcairn and Nor- 
folk Islands. By Lady Belcher. Illustrated. 
12mo, Cloth, $1 50. 

The tale of the mutiny of the Bounty has been told 
in various forms, and yet, old as it is, it gains in inter- 
est the more frequently it is repeated, and the better 
its details become known. Taken as a whole, there is 
probably no chain of occurrences in history more re- 
plete with romance. * * * Lady Belcher possesses pe- 
culiar advantages for her task, as the step-daughter of 
the late Captain Hey wood, one of the midshipmen in 
the Bounty. Hence many details have come to her 
knowledge from personal sources and from family 
manuscripts, and, in particular, the very important 
Diary of James Morrison, a petty officer of the Bounty. 
The work contains also the history of the descendants 
of the mutineers during the later years of their resi- 
dence in Pitcairn Island, and since their removal to 
Norfolk Island, down to the present year. — Athenceum 
(London). 

Few narratives can equal the story of the Bounty in 
portraying either the darker crimes or the softer feel- 
ings of human nature. The tale is not new, but it will 
never be old ; and we must thank Lady Belcher for 
again calling attention to it, and for placing before us 
a more complete and impartial account than has ever 
before been published. At the time when the story 
began, the doctrine that all in authority were kings 
and could do no wrong was piously believed, the crim- 
inality of inferiors was exaggerated, and the tyranny 
of rulers ignored ; and so it happened that, with regard 
to the Bounty narrative, only one side of the question 
was set forth, and every document which contained 
inconvenient facts was tied up in red tape and laid 
upon the shelf. But now, when accused and accusers 
have alike passed away, aud a long calm has succeed- 
ed the storm, transactions which have been hitherto 
obscured begin to appear in their true colors. Lady 
Belcher has been able to make use of a valuable col- 
lection of documents, some of which have come to her 
from her step-father, Captain Hey wood, and some from 
Admiral Sir Fairfax Moresly and other naval friends. 
— Examiner and London Review. 

The story of the Bounty is one of the romances of 
our English naval history. Lady Belcher has given 
ns many additional details, which greatly enhance the 
interest of the old story. The narrative is well told, 
aud has all the excitement of a romance. — English In- 
dependent 



DAISY NICHOL. A Novel. By Lady 
Hardy. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. 

She can paint simple scenes very charmingly, and 
can delineate the finer workings of a woman's nature 
very truthfully. — Examiner and London Review. 

In other respects there is much to praise : it is writ- 
ten in a very clear, readable fashion ; the incidents, 
with one or two exceptions, dovetail neatly together, 
and several of the characters, Daisy especially, aud her 
rejected lover, Kenneth Trench, are excellently por- 
trayed. The conversations are carried on in a sprightly 
and natural fashion, and there are many reflections 
which show the authoress to be a person of keen ob- 
servation aud good sound sense.— London Times. 



Harper &» Brothers 1 List of New Books. 



LIGHT AT EVENING TIME : a Book of 
Support and Comfort for the Aged. Edited 
by John Stanford Holme, D.D. Ele- 
gantly printed from large type on toned pa- 
per. 4to, Cloth, $2 50. 

A handsome, generous-paged book, which the Har- 
pers must have devised for the special purpose of 
drawing down on their heads the hearty blessing of 
all aged people who read its kindly type and appreci- 
ate its thoughtful, tender afternoon contents. The 
best words of Howe, Wesley, Robertson, Spurgeon, 
Jeremy Taylor, Dr. Arnold, Krummacher, and many 
other sages and saints give a varied richness to this 
book which ought to find its way, by filial care, to 
many thousand elderly persons who will surely dis- 
cover in it the purest and most cheering light at their 
evening time. — Cincinnati Chronicle. 

An admirable selection from the writings of eminent 
authors, which are calculated to give comfort and con- 
solation, because giving hope, to the aged. It is very 
carefully and skillfully edited.— World (N. Y.). 

The scheme of the volume is certainly excellent. 
The selections have been made from a wide range of 
authors, going back to St. Augustine and Chrysostom, 
and including representative English and American 
divines, both of the seventeenth and nineteenth cen- 
turies. There is a singular variety of topics, consid- 
ering the purpose of the work. Withal, the book is 
printed in a full, clear, and sizable type, and on paper 
which assists the eye.— Christian Union. 

From the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. 

I have looked through your new book for the aged, 
"Light at Evening Time"," and congratulate you on 
the successful execution of an idea which Avas very 
excellent. 

I have no doubt that it will carry cheer to many a 
soul that is now walking near to the setting sun. 

From the Rev. John Hall, D.D., Pastor of Fifth Avenue 
Presbyterian Church, New York. 
When the idea of the book was suggested to me, I 
thought it so good that it gave me pleasure to co-op- 
erate in carrying it out. I considered the undertaking 
in good hands as to editing and publishing, and I now 
add with pleasure that inspection of the proof-sheets 
confirms my original impression. 

Fromthe Rev. How art> Crosby, 'D.T>.,LL.'D., Chancellor 
of the University of New York. 
Dr. Holme's book, " Light at Evening Time," is well 
adapted to the comfort of the aged ; and there is much 
in it which would be wholesome and palatable for the 
young too. I approve of the idea, and the way in 
which Dr. Holme has realized it. The publishers have 
given it an attractive and appropriate dress. 

From the Rev. Stephen H. Tyng, D.D., Rector of St. 
George's, New York. 
Your interesting and valuable compilation presents 
to me real attractions. I think it must be useful and 
honored by the Master. You will find it welcomed 
as popular, and valued as practical and excellent. 

BRED IN THE BONE; or, Like Father, 
Like Son. A Novel. By the Author of " A 
Beggar on Horseback," "Gwendoline's Har- 
vest," "Won — Not Wooed," "Carlyon's 
Year," &c. With Illustrations. 8vo, Paper, 
50 cents. 



FROM THISTLES — GRAPES? A Novel. 
By Mrs. Eiloart, Author of "The Curate's 
Discipline," &c. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. 

As a story it is very fascinating, with good and bad, 
joy and sorrow blended in very natural proportions. 
— A Ibany Evening Journal. 

Written in an unusually straightforward and lucid 
style, possessing a well- constructed plot, brisk in 
movement, and entertaining in dialogue.— Citizen and 
Round Table. 

Shows considerable knowledge of individual char- 
acter.— Athenaeum (London). 

* * * Showing both talent and culture. — N. Y. Her- 
ald. 

The charm of Mrs. Eiloart's works lies in the con- 
sistent individuality of her characters. — Examiner and 
London Review. 



BEECHER'S MORNING AND EVENING 
EXERCISES. Morning and Evening Devo- 
tional Exercises : selected from the Publish- 
ed and Unpublished Writings of the Rev. 
Henry Ward Beecher. Edited by Lyman 
Abbott. Crown 8vo, Cloth, $2 00. 

These selections from Mr. Beecher's writings are ar- 
ranged for morning and evening devotional readings. 
They are headed by an appropriate text of Scripture, 
and a few verses from familiar hymns or well-known 
sacred poems are sometimes added. There is a read- 
ing for the morning and evening of each day of the 
year, and the fitting thoughts for each season are al- 
ways suggested. Like all Mr. Beecher's teachings, 
these are simple, earnest, and practical, with little of 
doctrine in them, but much that bears on everyday 
life. Their aim is to bring comfort and strength amid 
the warfare and struggles of the world, to elevate the 
mind, and animate the heart with high, noble, and holy 
thoughts. To those who would snatch a few minutes 
before the day's work begins for serious thought, and 
would end it with reflection, this volume can be warm- 
ly recommended. — N. Y. Times. 

A new and pleasant method of giving a Beecher 
miscellany of devotional matter, arranged under texts 
of Scripture, for a morning and evening reading each 
day of the year, with an appropriate stanza of poetry 
frequently added.— Advance. 

The wonderful fertility of the man is every where 
apparent, and the abundance and excellence of his il- 
lustrations are marvelous. — Presbyterian. 

As the title indicates, the book is a collection of ex- 
tracts from Mr. Beecher's published and unpublished 
utterances, with snatches of familiar hymns here and 
there, the whole adapted to the purposes of private 
devotion, and arranged in a convenient way for the 
morning and evening of each day of the year. No 
person can make this his daily hand-book without de- 
riving therefrom rich spiritual instruction and aid.— 
CongregatioTuilist. 

Spiritual, devout, and eminently practical; and intel- 
lectually fully up to the highest standard of excellence. 
As "helps" to home worship they will be found of 
great service, and those who read them regularly will 
be the wiser and better for it.— Albany Evening Jour- 
nal. 

Who can read his words, morning and evening for 
a year, without deriving from them unspeakable en- 
couragement and comfort ? There is little doctrinal, 
nothing sectarian, in the book, but it is full of the best 
Christianity.— N. Y. Evening Mail. 

We know of no book of a similar character which is 
more likely to hold the attention of its readers to the 
professed purpose for which it is used.— Worcester 
Spy. 



DE WITT'S MOTHERLESS. Motherless; 
or, A Parisian Family. For Girls in their 
Teens. Translated from the French of Mad- 
ame Guizot De Witt by the Author of " John 
Halifax, Gentleman." Illustrated. 12mo, 
Cloth, $1 50. 

Although the domestic tale called •' A Parisian Fam- 
ily," and translated from the French of Madame Guizot 
deWitt by the Author of "John Halifax, Gentleman," 
is designed "for girls in their teens," we confess to 
having read it with no slight interest. The feeling of 
the story is so good, the characters are so clearly 
marked, there is such freshness and truth to nature in 
the simple incidents recorded, that we have been al- 
lured on from page to page without the least wish to 
avail ourselves of a privilege permitted sometimes to 
the reviewer, and to skip a portion of the narrative. — 
Pall Mall Gazette (London). 



SMITH'S ENGLISH-LATIN DICTIONARY. 

A Copious and Critical English-Latin Dic- 
tionary. By Wm. Smith, LL.D., Editor of 
the Classical Dictionaries, &c. , and Theoph- 
ilus D. Hall, M.A., Fellow of University 
College, London. To which is added a Dic- 
tionary of Proper Names. 8vo, Sheep, $6 00. 



Harper &* Brothers' List of New Books. 



ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG NATURAL- 
IST. By Lucien Biart. Edited and adapt- 
ed by Parker Gillmore. With 117 Illustra- 
tions. (New Edition.) 12mo, Cloth, $1 75. 

It would be hard to find a book more attractive to 
a boy than this, none which imparts more endurable 
information on all subjects connected with natural 
history. It describes the adventures of a boy of ten, 
who accompanies his father, a naturalist, making a col- 
lection, a savant, his friend, and an Indian guide, who 
journey through the Cordilleras of Mexico. The scenes 
through which this party travel, and the thrilling inci- 
dents which happen to them— their meeting with wild 
animals, the discovery and examination of a wonderful 
cave, a hurricane which nearly sweeps them away, a 
current they barely escape being overwhelmed by, and 
a wild adventure in the woods— are all forcibly and 

fraphically described. The names and habits of the 
ifferent animals, the varieties and classes of the 
various trees and plants, and all the natural phenom- 
ena of the region traversed, are explained in a simple, 
clear, and pleasing manner. The little hero is forced 
to endure many hardships, to suffer from hunger and 
thirst, from fatigue and exposure, but he goes through 
all courageously, and at last reaches the end of his 
journey in safety. The work is profusely illustrated. 
—N. Y. Times. 

The story is graphically told, with a spirit that nev- 
er flags from the first page, and there are not many 
juvenile novels which will be read with more sustain- 
ed interest. The book is a course of natural history, 
and young people who would turn with weariness 
from the formal study of the subject will be surprised 
into the acquisition of a great deal of useful knowl- 
edge.— Brooklyn Union. 

It would be hard to decide whether this book excels 
in interest or in information. — N. Y. Herald. 

There has hardly been a book for boys since " Rob- 
inson Crusoe" that has been so fascinating as this will 
prove. It is, moreover, crowded with spirited illus- 
trations. — Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. 

The pictures are full of animation, and there are 
many vivid and highly colored descriptions of adven- 
ture. It will prove a source of delight to hundreds of 
boys. — Commercial A dvertiser. 

The illustrations are alone sufficient to make the 
book remarkable for interest, being, every one, tine bits 
of artistic drawing beautifully engraved. The work 
is full of them, every adventure, every animal, and ev- 
ery picturesque scene being pictured on a full page. — 
Boston Post. 

The author's style throughout is graphic, and the 
book is as attractive as pen and pencil combined can 
well make it, — Examiner and London Review. 

Seldom is such a brilliant book offered to young peo- 
ple. The cuts are of the most attractive kind, illustra- 
ting the wildest scenes in nature, and the most excit- 
ing situations in adventure. The story is just such as 
boys love. A better boy's book could hardly be named. 
— Sunday-School Times. 

A graud, good book for boys.— Utica Herald. 

All the wonders of the animal creation, from the lit- 
tle ground mouse to the ferocious jaguar, and from 
the tiniest of snakes to the voracious anaconda, and 
of birds, from the humming-bird to the king of the 
vultures, are unfolded to the view and described as 
among the objects personally observed by the party. 
The gorgeous luxuriance, too, of the vegetation in those 
splendid primeval forests presents abundant subjects 
for wonder and delighted examination. Nearly every 
scene and event of interest which occurred to the ex- 
plorers is mude the subject of a spirited picture, the 
whole furnishing a rich repast to the young and curi- 
ous reader.— Interior. 



THE VIVIAN ROMANCE. By Mortimer 
Collins. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. 

This novel would do credit to Wilkie Collins, as it is 
exactly in his vein, and has a good deal of his man- 
ner. — Albany Journal. 



ABBOTT'S SCIENCE FOR THE YOUNG. 
Heat : being Part I. of Science for the Young. 
By Jacob Abbott. Copiously Illustrated. 
12mo, Cloth, $1 50. 



Part II, on Light, in Press. 



DU CHAILLU'S APINGI KINGDOM. My 

Apingi Kingdom : with Life in the Great Sa- 
hara, and Sketches of the Chase of the Os- 
trich, Hyena, &c. By Paul Du Chaillc, 
Author of Du Chaillu s Books of Adventure. 
With numerous Illustrations. 12mo, Cloth, 
$1 75. 

No man has had so many curious adventures, in so 
many out-of-the-way places, as Paul Du Chaillu ; and 
no one has ever told the story of his adventures more 
charmingly. — Albany Evening Journal. 

Another very pleasant book from the pen of Mr. Du 
Chaillu, whose African adventures, set forth in such a 
happy narrative style, and with such lively and pictur- 
esque effects, are always bo attractive for the young 
people N. Y. Times. 

* * * In the new volume he again takes up the thread 
of his story about the Apingi Land, a country not far 
from the equator, on the south side, in which he had 
the good or ill luck to be made a king over the bar- 
barous people. The superstitious natives regarded 
him as a mighty spirit— something more than a great 
" medicine man " of the American Indians— and it was 
his aim to rule over them with a beneficent authority. 
He took care of their sick, was kind to their children, 
saved the women from being beaten, and, by a suc- 
cession of good deeds, won 'their respect and love. 
The old men of the tribe would gather round their 
monarch, and, inspired by a plentiful supply of palm 
wine, would fill his ear with stories of the ancient 
time, of which several legendary tales are here related. 
But the best part of the book consists of the narrative 
of personal incidents, which happened to the writer in 
great abundance, and with which he well understands 
the art of entertaining his youthful audieuce. — N. Y. 
Tribune. 

* * * Is as fascinating as its predecessors.— Independ- 
ent. 

Du Chaillu is a most agreeable writer. From begin- 
ning to end his book is a constant succession of graphic 
pictures of life in Africa.— X. Y. Herald. 

The young folks will find this volume a charming 
one. It is written in the author's peculiar conversa- 
tional style, which is so popular with the young.— Bos- 
ton Traveler. 



DU CHAILLU'S BOOKS OF ADVENTURE 
FOR BOYS. Stories of the Gorilla Country. 
— Wild Life Under the Equator. — Lost in the 
Jungle. — My Apingi Kingdom. 4 vols. , 1 2mo, 
Cloth, $1 75 each ; uniformly bound, in box, 
$7 00. 



WHICH IS THE HEROINE? A Novel. 
8vo, Paper, 50 cents. 

Although the story of quiet, everyday life devoid of 
thrilling incident, this novel yet possesses more than 
ordinary interest. The plot is clear, and is not marred 
by any straining after effect. The characters are fine- 
ly delineated, the dialogue natural, and the denoue- 
ment satisfactory.— Star (N. Y.). 

Interesting and well written.— N. Y. Herald. 

A book of pure Raphaelistic portraits. — American 
and Gazette (Philadelphia). 



THE TRAIL OE THE WAR. On the Trail 
of the German and French War. By Alex- 
ander Innes Shand, Occasional Correspond- 
ent of " The London Times." With Illustra- 
tions. 8vo, Paper, 35 cents. 

A lucid and graphic narrative— a well-written chap- 
ter of history.— Philadelphia, Press. 

Well timed and acceptable. It clears up very much 
that has been unintelligible in the dispatches and com- 
munications from abroad, and helps to a better under- 
standing of the position of affairs generally.— Star. 

Lively and entertaining, and well worthy of being 
preserved in permanent form. — Boston Post. 

It abounds with passages of vivid description, and, 
to our thinking, it depicts more forcibly than any oth- 
er account we have yet read the misery produced by 
war, even in districts where the conflict is not actually 
raging. — Graphic (London). 



Harper &> Brothers' List of New Books. 



PUSS-CAT MEW, and other New Fairy Stories 
for my Children. By E. H. Knatchbull- 
Hugessen, M.P. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, 
%\ 25. 

Containing twenty-one original stories, in which 
fairies and dwarfs, ogres and speaking animals, figure 
as extensively as juvenile readers possibly can desire, 
and even pieces of furniture express themselves with 
fluency and effect— in fact, as in the good old tales of 
our youth, most of the incidents are delightfully im- 
probable.— Philadelphia Press. 

The stories are brief, charmingly told, and, although 
in a field which has been thoroughly explored, are, 
withal, full of piquant originality.— Star (N. Y.). 

The author has been very successful in his fancies, 
and they will bring a world of pleasure to all fairy- 
loving people. While feeding the imagination of his 
youthful readers, he at the same time strives to teach 
some moral truth, but in a way to enhance rather than 
diminish the interest of the story. This charming 
collection will assuredly be a great favorite among the 
many children who still love and delight in the fairies. 
— N. Y. Times. 

By a favorite English writer, who possesses the rare 
gift of narrating wonderful stories to young people in 
a style of natural and familiar conversation.— K Y. 
Tribune. 

Readers of all ages like a good fairy story, and these 
are good. They are laid in that fascinating border- 
land of unreal reality which lies just beyond the hard 
facts of our everyday life and the remoter land of 
dreams, to which we are all more or less fond of mak- 
ing occasional excursions. They unite both sides, the 
real and imaginary, just enough to make a reader stop 
now and then to ask which is which. And the teachings 
of the stories, we must add, are all on the side of what 
is good and beautiful.— Independent 

Nothing happier in their line has appeared since the 
inimitable creations of Jean Maco.— Sunday-School 
Times. 

A collection of twenty-one stories such as children 
delight to listen to with open mouth and gleaming 
eye. — Congregationalist. 

The author is an admirable "story-teller" for little 
audiences.— Cleveland Herald. 

They are lively and fascinating; but they have a 
meaning also. — Albany Argus. 

Stories about ogres and fairies, and adventurous 
boys and girls, written in a very fascinating manner, 
and reminding the reader most agreeably of those fa- 
vorites of his youth, "Jack, the Giant-Killer," and its 
kind. The volume is beautifully printed and bound, 
and contains many spirited illustrations.— Literary 
World. 



ABBOTT'S LOUIS XIV. History of Louis 
XIV. By Johx S. C. Abbott, Author of 
" The History of Napoleon Bonaparte," " The 
French Revolution," &c. With Illustrations. 
16mo, Cloth, $1 20. (Uniform with Abbotts' 
Illustrated Histories. ) 

The narrative is one of deep interest, and its repro- 
duction in this compact form is very acceptable.— Chi- 
cago Evening Post. 

This little volume is written with great clearness, 
and in a highly interesting style. — N. Y. Times. 

The biographical histories of the Messrs. Abbott are 
well known, and on the whole have done good service. 
The light and pleasaut style in which thev are written 
induce many to read them who have neither time nor 
inclination for deeper or more extensive works. The 
present little volume is among the most graphic bio- 
graphical sketches they have given to the public— 
Toronto Globe. 



IN DUTY BOUND. A Novel. " By the Author 
of "Mark Warren," "A Brave Life," &c. 
Illustrated. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. 

The author of this charming volume is recognized 
as one of the most successful writers, and the present 
work will serve to enhance his reputation N. Y. Ex- 
press. 

The story contains a great many dramatic situations 
artistically presented, and several well-drawn charac- 
ters, which very early enlist and retain the sympathies 
of the reader.— Albany Evening Journal. 



SHAKESPEARE'S COMEDY OF THE 
MERCHANT OF VENICE. Edited, with 
Notes, by W. J. Rolfe, formerly Head Mas- 
ter of the High School, Cambridge, Mass. 
Engravings. 16' mo, Cloth, 90 cents. 

A book equally adapted for the scholar and the stu- 
dent. In the getting up, with its fine print and beau- 
tiful engravings, this booklet is a bijou.— Philadelphia 
Press. 

A valuable addition to our school apparatus for the 
critical study of our mother tongue. The illustrations 
are quite numerous, are pertinent to the text, and are 
of much more than average excellence. — Independent. 

The whole work is that of a student who not only 
appreciates the value of his work, but who understands 
the art of showing it to others. The work is thor- 
oughly done, handsomely brought out, and is to be 
commended to Shakespearean students, as well as to 
teachers who want a good class-book in English liter- 
ature. — Philadelphia Post. 

Will prove not only useful as a school-book, but, if 
we are not very much mistaken, a favorite as well in 
the parlor.— Albion. 

A SIREN. A Novel. By T. Adolphus Trol- 
lope, Author of "Lindisfarn Chase," &c. 
8vo, Paper, 50 cents. 

An exceptionally good novel. * * * Of the elements 
which go to make up a clever, entertaining, brilliant 
novel this book is full. Each one of the dramatis per- 
sonce appears for a purpose, and fulfills it. The plot is 
so skillfully conceived that even a veterau novel-read- 
er fails to discover, at least for a long time, how things 
are about to end— and this uncertainty gives a great 
additional charm to a story. The description of Ital- 
ian homes in the several different circles of social life 
are admirable, and the freshness of the story is most 
attractive.— Evening Bulletin (Philadelphia). 

The story is of an exciting character, and the treat- 
ment does not spoil it. * * * The local coloring is, as 
usual, excellent. — Athenceum (London). 

We have no alternative but to give to this novel the 
highest certificate of praise. — Morning Pout (London). 

We consider the tale as distinctly a success. Both 
the scenery and the characters are presented with 
force and distinctness.— Spectator (London). 

THE BAZAR BOOK OF DECORUM. The 

Care of the Person, Manners, Etiquette, and 
Ceremonials. 16mo, Toned Paper, Cloth, 
Beveled Edges, $1 00. 

A series of sensible, well-written, and pleasant es- 
says on the care of the person, manners, etiquette, and 
ceremonials. The title Bazar Book is taken from the 
fact that some of the essays which make up this vol- 
ume appeared origin ally iu the columns of Harper's Ba- 
zar. This in itself is a sufficient recommendation— 
Harper's Bazar being probably the only journal of 
fashion in the world which has good sense and enlight- 
ened reason for its guides. The " Bazar Book of 'De- 
corum" deserves every commendation. — Independent. 

A very graceful and judicious compendium of the 
laws of etiquette, taking its name from the Bazar 
weekly, which has become an established authority 
with the ladies of America upon all matters of taste 
and refinement.— A'. Y. Evening Post. 

It would be a good thing if at least one copy of this 
book were in every household of the United States, in 
order that all— especially the youth of both sexes- 
might read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest its wise 
instruction, pleasantly conveyed in a scholarly man- 
ner which eschews pedantry. — Philadelphia Press. 

Abounds in sensible suggestions for keeping one's 
person in proper order, and for doing fitly and to one's 
own satisfaction the thousand social duties that make 
up so large a part of social and domestic life. — Corre- 
spondence of Cincinnati Chronicle. 



ERNST'S COMMERCIAL ARITHMETIC. 
Accountant and Bookkeeper's Manual of Com- 
mercial Calculations, reduced to their utmost 
Simplicity. Adapted to Practical Use for 
Counting-Rooms, Commercial Colleges, and 
Normal and High Schools. 8vo, Cloth, $1 50. 



Harper &* Brothers* List of New Books. 



AN INDEX TO HARPER'S NEW MONTH- 
LY MAGAZINE, Alphabetical, Analytical, 
and Topical. Volumes I. to XL. : from 

: June, 1850, to May, 1870. 8vo, Cloth, $3 00. 

The Index just issued by the Harpers to the forty 
volumes of their Magazine is an "open sesame" to a 
new Hasserack's cave, filled with more than the treas- 
ures of the " Forty Thieves." It is the key to a repos- 
itory of biography and history, literature, science, and 
art, unequaled by any other American publication. * * * 
Already the forty volumes are as valuable as a mere 
work of reference as any cyclopaedia we can place in 
our libraries. * * * The Index will tend to make the 
Magazine even more popular than it has been, by mak- 
ing its treasures accessible without imposing the trou- 
ble upon the reader of examining the list of contents 
to each separate volume for some chapter of knowl- 
edge stored away somewhere in the 38,000 pages of 
these forty volumes.— N. Y. Standard. 

The Index to the forty volumes of Harper's Monthly 
has evidently been prepared with great care and judg- 
ment. An article may be sought under its proper 
title, under the class to which it belongs, or under its 
author's name, if known ; and, so far as we have test- 
ed the Index by cross references, the search can hardly 
fail to be rewarded. Even the contents of such crowd- 
ed departments as the "Editor's Easy Chair" and the 
"Record of Current Events" have been, in the one 
case, put in alphabetical order, in the other chronolog- 
ically arranged, of course adding very much to the 
general value of the Index. Finally, each alternate 
page has been left blank for private indexing of sub- 
sequent volumes. We have gratified our curiosity in 
noting at random the names of the principal contrib- 
utors to what is at once the most popular and, in its 
scheme, the most original of our Magazines. * * * On 
the whole, it would be difficult to make up a list of 
writers better calculated to please and edify the aver- 
age American citizen.— Nation. 



THE WARDEN and BARCHESTER TOW- 
ERS. In One Volume. By Anthony Trol- 
lope, Author of " Sir Harry Hotspur," " The 
Vicar of Bullhampton," &c. 8vo, Paper, 
75 cents. 

A reprint in one volume of two of the most fasci- 
nating works of a highly prolific novelist. The second 
of the two is, in the opinion of many admirers of Mr. 
Trollope, his master-piece. The Bishop and Mrs. Prou- 
die, Mr. Slope, Mr. Arabin, " the Signora," and the 
rest, are nearly as well known as some of Mr. Dickens's 
familiar creations, and are, in their way, nearly as per- 
fect types of human character. The popularity of such 
a book is perennial. — N. Y. Times. 



TENNYSON'S POETICAL WORKS. The 

Complete Poetical Works of Alfred Tennyson, 
Poet Laureate. With numerous Illustrations 
and Three Characteristic Portraits. Harper's 
Popular Edition, containing many Poems not 
hitherto included in his collected works, and 
with the Idyls of the King arranged in the 
order indicated by the Author. 8vo, Paper, 
75 cents ; Cloth, $1 25. 

&T This new edition contains ' ' The Window ; 
or, The Loves of the Wrens." With Music 
by Arthur Sullivan. 

The print is clear and excellent ; the paper is good ; 
the volume has illustrations from Dore, Millais, and 
other great artists. Really, the edition is a sort of 
prodigy in its way.— Independent. 

Those who want a perfect and complete edition of 
the works of the great English Poet Laureate should 
purchase the Harper edition.— Troy Budget. 

A marvel of cheapness.— Christian Era. 

THE MONARCH OF MINCING-LANE. A 
Novel. By William Black, Author of "In 
Silk Attire," "Love or Marriage?" " Kil- 
meny," &c. Illustrated. 8vo, Paper, 50 
cents. 



TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS. By An 
Old Boy. New Edition. Beautifully Illus- 
trated by Arthur Hughes and Sidney Prior 
Hall. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents. 

Nothing need be said of the merits of this, acknowl- 
edged on all hands to be one of the very best boy's 
books ever written. "Tom Brown" does not reach 
the point of ideal excellence. He is not a faultless 
boy ; but his boy-faults, by the way they are corrected, 
help him in getting on. The more of such reading 
can be furnished the better.— Examiner and Chronicle. 

Can be read a dozen times, and each time with tears 
and laughter as genuine and impulsive as at the first. 
— Rochester Democrat. 

Finely printed, and contains excellent illustrations. 
"Tom Brown" is a book which will always be popu- 
lar with boys, and it deserves to be World (N. Y.). 

For healthy reading it is one book in a thousand.— 
Advance. 



TOM BROWN AT OXFORD. By the Au- 
thor of "Tom Brown's School Days." New 
Edition. With Illustrations by Sidney P. 
Hall. 8vo, Paper, 75 cents. 

*5ir The two above-mentioned boohs in One 
Volume, 8vo, Cloth, $1 50. 

A new and very pretty edition. The illustrations 
are exceedingly good, the typography is clear, and the 
paper white and fine. There is no need to say any thing 
of the literary merits of the work, which has become 
a kind of classic, and which presents the grand old 
Tory University to the reader in all its glory and fas- 
cination. — Evening Post. 

Fairly entitled to the rank and dignity of an English 
classic. Plot, style, and truthfulness are of the sound- 
est British character. Racy, idiomatic, mirror-like, al- 
ways interesting, suggesting thought on the knottiest 
social and religious questions, now deeply moving by 
its unconscious pathos, and anon inspiring uproarious 
laughter, it is a work the world will not willingly let 
die.— Christian Advocate. 



THE NEW TIMOTHY. A Novel. By Wm. 
M. Baker, Author of "Inside: a Chronicle 
of Secession, "&c. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50. 

As a study of life little known to literature, it is 
most successful and commendable. — Atlantic Monthly. 

* * • Very much superior to a majority of contem- 
porary novels, American or other. * * * Its good sense 
and the firm texture of it make it always a work that 
a man need not be ashamed to have done, and it is 
often vivid and often genuinely humorous.— Nation. 



MACGREGOR'S ROB ROY ON THE JOR- 
DAN. The Rob Roy on the Jordan, Nile, 
Red Sea, and Gennesareth, &c. A Canoe 
Cruise in Palestine and Egypt, and the Wa- 
ters of Damascus. By J. Macgregor, M.A. 
W T ith Maps and Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 
Cloth, $2 50. 

The trip on the Jordan, from its sources to its mouth, 
is especially full of interest and value to the Christian 
reader. The work will supplement our knowledge of 
the lands visited in many important particulars, and 
will convey an idea of the waters of Palestine with 
more minute distinctness than any previously pub- 
lished. It abounds in valuable scientific information, 
and is enriched with maps and numerous fine illustra- 
tions. — Sunday-School Times. 

Always sprightly, a good story-teller, and actually 
having much that is worth narrating, he has really 
contributed not a little in this interesting volume to 
our better acquaintance with several localities in 
Syria. — Advance. 

BRODHEAD'S HISTORY OF THE STATE 
OF NEW YORK. Vol. II. of the History 
of the State of New York. By John Romeyn 
Brodhead. 8vo, Cloth, $3 00. 



VALUABLE STANDARD WORKS 

FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIBRARIES, 

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York. 



C3~ For a full List of Books suitable for Libraries, see Harper & Brothers' Trade-List and Catalogue, which 
may be liad gratuitously on application to the Publishers personally, or by letter enclosing Five Cents. 

SW Harper & Brothers will send any of the following works by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the 

United States, on receipt of the price. 



MOTLEY'S DUTCH REPUBLIC. The "Rise of the 
Dutch Republic. By John Loturop Motley, LL.D., 
D.C.L. With a Portrait of William of Orange. 3 
vols., Svo, Cloth, $10 50. 

MOTLEY'S UNITED NETHERLANDS. Histc-y of 
the United Netherlands: from the Death of William 
the Silent to the Twelve Years' Truce— 1609. With 
a full View of the English-Dutch Struggle against 
Spain, and of the Origin and Destruction of the 
Spanish Armada. By John Lotheop Motley, LL.D., 
D.C.L. Portraits. 4 vols., Svo, Cloth, $14 00. 

NAPOLEON'S LIFE OF CAESAR. The History of 

Julius Caesar. By His Imperial Majesty Napoleon 

III. Two Volumes ready. Library Edition, Svo, 

Cloth, $3 50 per vol. 

Maps to Vols. I. and II. sold separately. Price $1 50 

each, net. 

HAYDN'S DICTIONARY OF DATES, relating to all 
Ages and Nations. For Universal Reference. Ed- 
ited by Benjamin Vincent, Assistant Secretary and 
Keeper of the Library of the Royal Institution of 
Great Britain ; and Revised for the Use of American 
Readers. Svo, Cloth, $5 00 ; Sheep, $6 00. 

MACGREGOR'S ROB ROY ON THE JORDAN. 
The Rob Roy on the Jordan, Nile, Red Sea, and 
Gennesareth, &c. A Canoe Cruise in Palestine and 
Egvpt, and the Waters of Damascus. By J. Mac- 
oregor, M.A. With Maps and Illustrations. Crown 
Svo. Cloth, $2 50. 

WALLACE'S MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. The Malay 
Archipelago : the Land of the Orang-Utan and the 
Bird of Paradise.* A Narrative of Travel, 1854-1862. 
With Studies of Man and Nature. By Alfred Rls- 
6el Wallace. With Ten Maps and Fifty-one Ele- 
gant Illustrations. Crown Svo, Cloth, $3 50. 

WHYMPER'S ALASKA. Travel and Adventure in 
the Territory of Alaska, formerly Russian America 
—now Ceded to the United States— and in various 
other parts of the North Pacitic. By Frederick 
Whymper. With Map and Illustrations. Crown 
Svo, Cloth, $2 50. 

ORTON'S ANDES AND THE AMAZON. The An- 
des and the Amazon ; or, Across the Continent of 
South America. By James Orton, M.A., Professor 
of Natural History in Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, 
N. Y., and Corresponding Member of the Academy 
of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. With a New Map 
of Equatorial America and numerous Illustrations. 
Crown 8vo, Cloth, $2 00. 

WHITE'S MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 

The Massacre of St. Bartholomew: Preceded by a 
History of the Religious Wars in the Reign of Charles 
IX. By Henry White, M. A. With Illustrations. 8vo, 
Cloth, $1 75. 

ALFORD'S GREEK TESTAMENT. The Greek 
Testament : with a critically-revised Text ; a Digest 
of Various Readings ; Marginal References to Verbal 
and Idiomatic Usage ; Prolegomena; and a Critical 
and Exegetical Commentary. For the Use of Theo- 
logical Students and Ministers. By Henry Alford, 
D.D., Dean of Canterbury. Vol. I., containing the 
Four Gospels. 944 pages, Svo, Cloth, $6 00 ; Sheep, 
$6 50. 



LOSSING'S FIELD-BOOK OF THE REVOLUTION. 
Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution ; or, Illustra- 
tions, by Pen and Pencil, of the HistoiT, Biography, 
Scenery, Relics, and Traditions of the War for Inde- 
pendence. By Benson J. Lossing. 2 vols., Svo, 
Cloth, $14 00 ; Sheep, $15 00 ; Half Calf, $18 00 ; Full 
Turkey Morocco, $22 00. 

LOSSING'S FIELD-BOOK OF THE WAR OF 1812. 
Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812 ; or, Illustra- 
tions, by Pen and Pencil, of the History, Biography, 
Scenery, Relics, and Traditions of the Last War for 
American Independence. By Benson J. Lossing. 
With several hundred Engravings on Wood, by Los- 
sing and Barritt, chiefly from Original Sketches by 
the Author. 10S8 pages, Svo, Cloth, $7 00 ; Sheep, 
$S 50 ; Half Calf, $10 00. 

WINCHELL'S SKETCHES of CREATION. Sketch- 
es of Creation: a Popular View of some of the Grand 
Conclusions of the Sciences in reference to the His- 
tory of Matter and of Life. Together with a State- 
ment of the Intimations of Science respecting the 
Primordial Condition and the Ultimate Destiny of 
the Earth and the Solar System. By Alexander 
Winchell, LL.D., Professor of Geology, Zoology, 
and Botany in the University of Michigan, and Di- 
rector of the State Geological Survey. With Illus- 
trations. 12mo, Cloth, $2 00. 

ABBOTT'S HISTORY OF THE FRENCH REVO- 
LUTION. The French Revolution of 17S9, as viewed 
in the Light of Republican Institutions. By John S. 
C.Abbott. With 100 Engravings. Svo, Cloth, $5 00. 

ABBOTT'S NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. The His- 
tory of Napoleon Bonaparte. By John \S. C. Ab- 
bott. With Maps, Woodcuts, and Portraits on Steel. 
2 vols., Svo, Cloth, $10 00. 

ABBOTT'S NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA; or, In- 
teresting Anecdotes and Remarkable Conversations 
of the Emperor during the Five and a Half Years of 
his Captivity. Collected from the Memorials of Las 
Casas, O'Meara, Montholon, Antommarchi, and oth- 
ers. By John S.C.Abbott. With Illustrations. 8vo, 
Cloth, $5 00. 

ADDISON'S COMPLETE WORKS. The Works of 
Joseph Addiscni, embracing the whole of the " Spec- 
tator." Complete in 3 vols., Svo, Cloth, $6 00. 

ALCOCK'S JAPAN. The Capital of the Tycoon : a 
Narrative of a Three Years' Residence in Japan. By 
Sir Rutherford Alcock, K.C.B., Her Majesty's En- 
voy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in 
Japan. With Maps and Engravings. 2vols.,12mo, 
Cloth, $3 50. 

ALISON'S HISTORY OF EUROPE. First Series : 
From the Commencement of the French Revolution, 
in 1789, to the Restoration of the Bourbons, in 1815. 
[In addition to the Notes on Chapter LXXVI., which 
correct the errors of the original work concerning 
the United States, a copious Analytical Index has 
been appended to this American edition.] Second 
Series : From the Fall of Napoleon, in 1815, to the 
Accession of Louis Napoleon, in 1S52. S vols., 8vo, 
Cloth, $16 00. 

BANCROFT'S MISCELLANIES. Literary and His- 
torical Miscellanies. By Geokge Bancroft. Svo. 
Cloth, $3 00. 



Harper &* Brothers* Valuable Standard Works. 



BALDWIN'S PRE-HISTORIC NATIONS. Pre-His- 
toric Nations ; or, Inquiries concerning some of the 
Great Peoples and Civilisations of Antiquity, and 
their Probable Relation to a still Older Civilization 
of the Ethiopians or Cushites of Arabia. By John 
D. Baldwin, Member of the American Oriental So- 
ciety. 12mo, Cloth, $1 75. 

BARTH'S NORTH AND CENTRAL AFRICA. 
Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Af- 
rica: being a Journal of an Expedition undertaken 
under the Auspices of H.B.M.'s Government, in the 
Years 1849-1855. By Henry Bakth, Ph.D., D.C.L. 
Illustrated. 3 vols., 8vo, Cloth, $12 00. 

HENRY WARD BEECHER'S SERMONS. Sermons 
by Henry Wabi> Beeoher, Plymouth Church, Brook- 
lyn. Selected from Published and Unpublished Dis- 
courses, and Revised by their Author. With Steel 
Portrait. Complete in Two Vols., Svo, Cloth, $5 00. 

LYMAN BEECHER'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY, &o. 

Autobiography, Correspondence, &c, of Lyman 
Beecher, D.D. Edited by his Son, Charles Beech- 
ee. With Three Steel Portraits, and Engravings on 
Wood. In Two Vols., 12mo, Cloth, $5 00. 

BELLOWS'S OLD WORLD. The Old World in its 
New Face: Impressions of Europe in 1S67-1S68. By 
Henry W. Bellows. 2 vols., 12mo, Cloth, $3 50. 

BOSWELL'S JOHNSON. The Life of Samuel John- 
son, LL.D. Including a Journey to the Hebrides. 
By James Boswell, Esq. A New Edition, with nu- 
merous Additions and Notes. By John Wilson 
Croker, LL.D., F.R.S. Portrait of Boswell. 2 vols., 
Svo, Cloth, $4 00. 

BROD HEAD'S HISTORY OF NEW YORK. His- 
tory of the State of New York. By John Romeyn 
Broduead. First Period, 1609-1604. Svo, Cloth, 
$3 00. 

BULWER'S PROSE WORKS. Miscellaneous Prose 
Works of Edward Bulwer, Lord Lytton. 2 vols., 
12mo, Cloth, $3 50. 

BURNS'S LIFE AND WORKS. The Life and Works 
of Robert Burns. Edited by Robert Chambers. 4 
vols., 12mo, Cloth, $6 00. 

CARLYLE'S FREDERICK THE GREAT. History 
of Friedrich II., called Frederick the Great. By 
Thomas Carlyle. Portraits, Maps, Plans, &c. G 
vols., 12mo, Cloth, $12 00. 

CARLYLE'S FRENCH REVOLUTION. History of 
the French Revolution. Newly Revised by the Au- 
thor, with Index, &c. 2 vols., 12mo, Cloth, $3 50. 

CARLYLE'S OLIVER CROMWELL. Letters and 
Speeches of Oliver Cromwell. With Elucidations 
and Connecting Narrative. 2 vols., 12mo, Cloth, 
$3 50. 

CHALMERS'S POSTHUMOUS WORKS. The Post- 
humous Works of Dr. Chalmers. Edited by his 
Son-in-Law, Rev. William Hanna, LL.D. Complete 
in Nine Vols., 12mo, Cloth, $13 50. 

COLERIDGE'S COMPLETE WORKS. The Com- 

flete Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. With an 
utroductory Essay upon his Philosophical and 
Theological Opinions. Edited by Professor Shedd. 
Complete in Seven Vols. With a fine Portrait. 
Small Svo, Cloth, $10 50. 

CURTIS'S HISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTION. 
History of the Origin, Formation, and Adoption of 
the Constitution of the United States. By George 
Ticxnor Curtis. 2 vols., Svo, Cloth, $0 00. 

DU CHAILLU'S AFRICA. Explorations and Adven- 
tures in Equatorial Africa: with Accounts of the 
Manners and Customs of the People, and of the 
Chase of the Gorilla, the Crocodile, Leopard, Ele- 
phant, Hippopotamus, and other Animals. By Paul 
B. Du Chaillu. Numerous Illustrations. Svo, 
Cloth, $5 00. 

DU CHAILLU'S ASHANGO LAND. A Journey to 
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Adelaide Lindsay. Edited by Mrs. Marsh. ... 50 

Petticoat Government. By Mrs. Trollope 50 

The Luttrells. By F. Williams 50 

Singleton Fontenoy, R. N. By Hannay 50 

Olive. By Miss Mulock 50 

Henry Smeaton. By James 50 

Time, the Avenger. By Mrs. Marsh 50 

The Commissioner. By James 1 00 

The Wife's Sister. By Mrs. Hubback 50 

The Gold Worshipers 50 

The Daughter of Night. By Fullom 50 

Stuart of Dunleath. By Hon. Caroline Norton 50 

Arthur Conway. By Captain E. H. Milman. . 50 

The Fate. By James 50 

The Lady and the Priest. By Mrs. Maberly. . 50 

Aims and Obstacles. By James 50 

The Tutor's Ward 50 

Florence Sackville. By Mrs. Burbury 75 

Ravenscliffe. By Mrs. Marsh 50 

Maurice Tiernay. By Lever 1 00 

The Head of the Family. By Miss Mulock. . . 75 

Darien. By Warburton 50 

Falkenburg 75 

The Daltons. By Lever 1 50 

Ivar ; or, The Skjuts-Boy. By Miss Carlen . . 50 

Pequinillo. By Jame3 50 

Anna Hammer. By Temme 50 

A Life of Vicissitudes. By Jame3 50 

Henry Esmond. By Thackeray 75 

177. My Novel. By Bulwer 1 50 

Katie Stewart. By Mrs. Oliphant 25 

Castle Avon. By Mrs. Marsh 50 

Agnes Sorel. By James 50 

Agatha's Husband. By Miss Mulock 50 

Villette. By Currer Bell 75 

Lover's Stratagem. By Miss Carlen 50 

Clouded Happiness. By Countess D'Orsay. . . 50 

Charles Auchester. A Memorial 75 

Lady Lee's Widowhood 50 

The Dodd Family Abroad. By Lever 1 '5 

Sir Jasper Carew. By Lever 75 



Harper's Library of Select Novels. 



PRICK 

1S9. Quiet Heart. By Mrs. Oliphant $0 25 

190. Aubrey. By Mrs. Marsh 75 

191. Ticonderoga. By James.. 50 

19-2. Hard Times. By Dickens 50 

193. The Young Husband. By Mrs. Grey 50 

194. The Mother's Recompense. By Grace Aguilar. 75 

195. Avillion, and other Tales. By Miss Mulock. . . 1 25 

196. North and South. By Mrs. Gaskell 50 

197. Country Neighborhood. By Miss Dupuy 50 

198. Constance Herbert. By Miss Jewsbury 50 

199. The Heiress of Haughton. By Mrs. Marsh. . . 50 

200. The Old Dominion. By James 50 

201. John Halifax. By M iss Mulock 75 

202. Evelyn Marston. By Mrs. Marsh 50 

203. Fortunes of Glencore. By Lever 50 

204. Leonora d'Orco. By James 50 

205. Nothing New. By Miss Mulock 50 

206. The Rose of Ashurst. By Mrs. Marsh 50 

207. The Athelings. By Mrs. Oliphant 75 

2(>8. Scenes of Clerical Life. By George Eliot 75 

209. My Lady Ludlow. By Mrs. Gaskell 25 

210, 211. Gerald Fitzgerald. By Lever 50 

212. A Life for a Life. By Miss Mulock 50 

213. Sword and Gown. By Geo. Lawrence 25 

214. Misrepresentation. By Anna H. Drury 1 00 

215. The Mill on the Floss. By George Eliot 75 

216. One of Them. By Lever 75 

217. A Day's Ride. By Lever 50 

218. Notice to Quit. By Wills 50 

219. A Strange Story. By Bulwer 1 00 

220. The Struggles of Brown, Jones, and Robinson. 

By Anthony Trollope 50 

221. Abel Drake's Wife. By John Saunders 75 

222. Olive Blake's G fc ood Work. By Jeaffreson... . 75 

223. The Professor's Lady 25 

224. Mistress and Maid. By Miss Mulock 50 

225. Aurora Floyd. By M. E. Braddon 75 

226. Barrington. By Lever 75 

227. Sylvia's Lovers. By Mrs. Gaskell 75 

228. A First Friendship 50 

229. A Dark Night's Work. By Mrs. Gaskell 50 

230. Countess Gisela 25 

231. St.Olave's 75 

232. A Point of Honor 50 

233. Live it Down. By Jeaffreson 1 00 

234. Martin Pole. By Saunders 50 

235. Mary Lyndsay. By Lady Emily 1'onsonby. . . 50 

236. Eleanor's Victory. By M. E. Lraddon 75 

237. Rachel Ray. By Trollope 50 

23S. John Marchmont's Legacy. By M. E. Braddon. 75 

239. Annis Warleigh's Fortunes. By Holme Lee. . 75 

240. The Wife's Evidence. By W T ills 50 

241. Barbara's Historv. By Amelia B. Edwards. . . 75 

242. Cousin Phillis. By Mrs. Gaskell 25 

243. What will he do with It ? By Bulwer 1 50 

244. The Ladder of Life. By Amelia B. Edwards. . 50 

245. Denis Duval. By Thackeray 50 

246. Maurice Bering. By Geo. Lawrence 50 

247. Margaret Denzil's History 75 

24$. Quite Alone. By George Augustus Sala 75 

249. Mattie: a Stray 75 

250. My Brother's Wife. By Amelia B. Edwards. . 50 

251. Uncle Silas. By J. S. Le Fanu 75 

252. Lovel the Widower. By Thackeray 25 

253. Miss Mackenzie. By Anthony Trollope 50 

254. Oh Guard. By Annie Thomas 50 

25r>. Theo Leigh. By Annie Thomas 50 

256. Denis Donne. By Annie Thomas 50 

257. Belial 50 

255. Carry's Confession. By the Author of " Mat- 

tie : a Stray" 75 

259. Miss Carew. By Amelia B. Edwards 50 

260. Hand and Glove. By Amelia B. Edwards 50 

261. Guy Deverell. By J. S. Le Fanu 50 

262. Half a Million of Money. By Amelia B. Ed- 

wards 75 

263. The Belton Estate. By Anthony Trollope 50 

264. Agnes. By Mrs. Oliphant 75 

265. Walter Goring. By Annie Thomas 75 

266. Maxwell Drewitt. By Mrs. J. H. Riddell 75 

267. The Toilers of the Sea. By Victor Hugo 75 

26S. Miss Marjoribanks. By Mrs. Oliphant 50 

269. The True History of a Little Ragamuffin 50 

270. Gilbert Rugge. By the Author of " A First 

Friendship" 1 00 

271. Sans Merci. By Geo. Lawrence 50 

272. Phemie Keller. By Mrs. J. H. Riddell 50 

273. Land at Last. By Edmund Yates 50 

274. Felix Holt, the Radical. By George Eliot 75 

275. Bound to the Wheel. By John Saunders 75 

276. All in the Dark. By J. S. Le Fanu 50 

277. Kissing the Rod. By Edmund Yates 75 

27S. The Race for Wealth. By Mrs. J. II. Riddell. . 75 

279. Lizzie Lorton of Greyrigg. By Mis. E. Lynn 

Linton 75 

280. The Beauclercs, Father and Son. By Clarke. 50 

281. Sir Brooke Fossbrooke. By Charles Lever ... 50 



282. 
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PKICB 

Madonna Mary. By Mrs. Oliphant $0 50 

Cradock Nowell. By R. D. Blackmore 79 

Bernthal. From the German of L. Miihlbach. 50 

Rachel's Secret 75 

The Claverings. By Anthony Trollope 50 

The Village on the Cliff. By Miss Thackeray. 25 

Played Out. By Annie Thomas 75 

Black Sheep. By Edmund Y'ates 50 

Sowing the Wind. By Mrs. E. Lynn Linton.. 50 

Nora and Archibald Lee 50 

Raymond's Heroine 50 

Mr. Wynyard's Ward. By Holme Lee 50 

Alec Forbes of Howglen. By Mac Donald 75 

No Man's Friend. By F. W. Robinson 75 

Called to Accouut. By Annie Thomas 50 

Caste 50 

The Curate's Discipline. By Mrs. Eiloart 50 

Circe. By Babingtou White 50 

The Tenants of Malory. By J. S. Le Fanu 50 

Carlyon's Year. By the Author of "Lost Sir 

Massingberd," &c 25 

The Waterdale Neighbors. By the Author of 

44 Paul Massie" 50 

Mabel's Progress. By the Author of "Aunt 

Margaret's Trouble " 50 

Guild Court. By George Mac Donald 50 

The Brothers' Bet. By Emilie Flygare Carlen 25 

Playing for High Stakes. By Annie Thomas. . 50 

Margaret's Engagement 50 

One of the Family. By the Author of "Car- 
lyon's Year" 25 

Five H undred Pounds Reward. By a Barrister 50 

Brownlows. By Mrs. Oliphant 37 

Charlotte's Inheritance. By M. E. Braddon . . '50 
Jeanie's Quiet Life. By the Author of "St. 

Ulave's," &c 50 

Poor Humanity. By F. W. Robinson 50 

Brakespeare. By Geo. Lawrence 50 

A Lost Name. By J. Sheridan Le Fanu 50 

Love or Marriage ? By William Black 50 

Dead-Sea Fruit. By M. E. Braddon 50 

The Dower House. By Annie Thomas 50 

The Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly. By Lever. 50 

Mildred. By Georgiana M. Craik 50 

Nature's Nobleman. By the Author of "Ra- 
chel's Secret" 50 

Kathleen. By the Author of " Raymond's He- 
roine" 50 

That Boy of Norcott's. By Charles Lever 25 

In Silk Attire. By W. Black 50 

Hetty. By Henry Kingsley. ...'. 25 

False Colors. By Annie Thomas 50 

Meta's Faith. By the Author of " St. Olave'e." 50 
Found Dead. By the Author of "Carlyon's 

Year" 50 

Wn eked in Port. By Edmund Yates 50 

The Minister's Wife. By Mrs. Oliphant 75 

A Beggar on Horseback. By the Author of 

" Carlyon's Year" 50 

Kitty. By the Author of " Doctor Jacob" 50 

Only Herself. By Annie Thomas 50 

Hire 11. By John Saunders. 50 

Under Foot. By Alton Clyde 50 

So Runs the World Away. By Mrs. A. C. Steele. 50 

Baffled. By Julia Goddard 75 

Beneath the Wheels. By the Author of " Olive 

Varcoe" 50 

Stern Necessity. By F. W. Robinson 50 

Gwendoline's Harvest. By the Author of "Car- 

lvon's Year" 25 

Kil'meny. By W. Black 50 

John: a Love Story. By Mrs. Oliphant 50 

True to Herself. By F. W. Robinson 50 

Veronica. By the Author of " Aunt Margaret's 

Trouble" 50 

A Dangerous Guest. By the Author of "Gil- 
bert Rugge" 50 

Estelle Russell 75 

The Heir Expectant. By the Author of " Ray- 
mond's Heroine" ... . 50 

Which is the Heroine ? 50 

The Vivian Romance. By Mortimer Collins. . 50 

In Duty Bound. Illustrated 50 

The Warden and Barchester Towers. In 1 vol. 

By Anthony Trollope 75 

From Thistles— Grapes ? By Mis. Eiloart 50 

A Siren. By T. Adolphns Trollope 50 

Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite. By 

Anthony Trollope. Illustrated 51 

Earl's Dene. By R. E. FranciHon 50 

Daisy Nichol. By Lady Hard>> 50 

Bred in the Bone. By the Author of " Carly- 
on's Year" S 50 

Fenton's Quest. By Miss Braddon. Illustrated. 50 
Monarch of Mincing- Lane. By W. Black. Il- 
lustrated 50 

A Life's Assize. By Mrs. J. II . Riddell 50 



Price Sixty Cents. 

i— 



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DIARY 

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THE BESIEGED RESIDENT 
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H. LABOUCHERE, M!P. 



NEW YORK: 

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ANDREWS'S LATIN - ENGLISH LEXICON. 

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ANTHON'S CLASSICAL DICTIONARY. Contain- 
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ANTHON'S SMITHS CLASSICAL DICTIONARY. 

A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman 
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Revised, with numerous Corrections and Additions, 
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ANTHON'S SMITH'S DICTIONARY OF ANTIQ- 
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ANTHON'S LATIN-ENGLISH AND ENGLISH- 
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schmidt. Small 4to, Sheep, $3 50. 

ANTHON'S RIDDLE AND ARNOLD'S ENGLISH- 
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Esmond Riddle, M.A., and Rev. TnoMAS Kerohever 
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CRABB'S ENGLISH SYNONYMS. English Syno- 
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and the "Universal Historical Dictionary." Svo, 
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ENGLISHMAN'S GREEK CONCORDANCE. The 

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FOWLERS ENGLISH LANGUAGE. The English 
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HAYDN'S DICTIONARY OF DATES. Haydn's Dic- 
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LIDDELL AND SCOTT'S GREEK - ENGLISH 
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M'CLINTOCK AND STRONG'S CYCLOP/EDIA 

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AM E NT. A Greek and English Lexicon of the New 
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YONGE'S ENGLISH-GREEK LEXICON. An En- 
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VOLUME 42. ) T T -AT I NEW YORK, 

Number 25 i. \ Fl ARPER'S ' 1V1 AGAZINE. 1 April, 1871. 

THE Forty-second Volume of Harper's Magazine opened with the Decembe* Number. Each 
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IS Bound Volumes of the Magazine, each Volume containing the Numbers for Six Months, will be furnished for $3 00 pet 
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Subscribers to the Magazine, Weekly, or Bazar will find on each wrapper a Number following their name winch denotes tlv 
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III eive notice of discontinuance. , ,,, , , . ,,,, ^, ,. 

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